


before the night is over

by vibrissae



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, GOT7_TAROT_19, M/M, Vampire Sex, author can't write action or angst but there was an effort, but more like, double b stands for blood bonds, emotionally constipated jaeb, frenemies to lovers, vampire/human society
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 07:23:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20131561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vibrissae/pseuds/vibrissae
Summary: Jaebeom's not sure how he got stuck babysitting a vampire going through the technological evolution of 30 years all in one day.





	before the night is over

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is a result of me wondering how to write '90s twink!bam ([insp](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e8/da/3e/e8da3e2494818d19db4067071154d257.jpg)) without doing a ton of research about that decade
> 
> tarot card/meaning in the end notes because it's a little spoilery! also here's a [moodboard](https://i.ibb.co/Jxh3Zpq/Tarot-Mood-Board.png) i made for the fic if you want some visuals!
> 
> **warnings:** sexy blood drinking? creepy/ugly-ish vampires with huge teeth? some violence lots of blood but not a lot of action so. plus barebacking
> 
> (background on the vamps: they're dead but feed off blood & need it for functions like blushing. better senses, strong, no classic vampire lore (garlic/crosses). only way to kill em is decapitation)
> 
> hhh unbeta'd

0 //

“It’s him again,” Jinyoung remarks, crouched next to the body of a young woman, her wrist held delicately in his hand. Two bleeding wounds, a fresh bite mark, are glaringly obvious against the blue blood vessels of her forearm.

“She’s alive?” Jaebeom asks, prompting Jinyoung to sigh and reluctantly take her pulse. Of course she’s alive, they always are when they’re his victims. Yet Jaebeom still feels the need to argue, “He shouldn’t have left her knocked out in an alley, another could’ve found her. Or a citizen, even.”

They’re standing in a dark street, next to the back exit of a club. The girl had been propped up next to the door, jacket draped over her where she sat slumped on the ground.

“You know vampires don’t like each other’s leftovers,” Jinyoung states, as he reaches to scoop the girl up, a hand around her back and under her knees. She’ll be fine, but she’ll be less concerned if she wakes up in her own home, rather than on the street. “Besides, he knows we’re always a step behind him. He’s just doing this to annoy you.” 

Jaebeom’s grumbling, bitter and under his breath, subsides a little when he notices that the girl’s wallet fell from her lap when Jinyoung picked her up. This particularly irritating vampire always conveniently leaves behind clues to his victims’ addresses, as if he’s being merciful. Jaebeom isn’t about to thank him for it though, since he keeps creating these messes in the first place. Jaebeom rifles through the wallet, looking for her ID as he complains, “Isn’t he bored yet? He barely drinks from them. He doesn’t need this much blood, and it’s been a week now.”

“Maybe if you’d apologize,” Jinyoung shrugs, the girl’s head lolling against his shoulder. She’ll be out for a while now, overexaggerated vampire toxins from the bite inducing her into a slumber. “This is our job anyway.”

“Our job is killing vampires,” Jaebeom grunts as he leads the way back to the car they’d parked on the street. “Not cleaning up after them.”

“We only take care of the rogue ones,” Jinyoung reminds him, and he seems tired, Jaebeom knows. They’ve had the same conversation every day for the last week, stuck cleaning up after this vampire. All of his victims are left outside vampire clubs, likely hook-ups, humans that were there specifically to find a vampire to bite them for the night. Most vampires don’t have a problem with finding a willing blood source, but Jaebeom became a hunter to take care of the vampires that do attack and kill humans. Walking bite-dizzy humans back home after they had a wild night at the club just happens to be what the job consists of these days.

“Bambam’s wasting our time, we have more important things to be doing,” Jaebeom continues arguing, talking over Jinyoung’s long-winded sigh. They’re in for a long, boring night. 

1 //

Jaebeom can still vividly remember when they first met Bambam. They’d been sent out on a tip that had been called in from Cheongdam-dong. Missions prompted by the wealthy usually stem from paranoia, and rarely actually turn out to be something that Jaebeom believes they aren’t overqualified for. They’re so used to these calls being false alarms, that they stopped at a convenience store for a quick dinner and a few cheap beers on the way.

When they pull up to a high-rise downtown, Jaebeom’s sure that the extra beer that’s left him a little drowsy won’t be a problem. These type of calls are usually from uptight rich people who catch “suspicious characters” loitering on their sidewalks. The nights usually begin and end quickly, with Jinyoung giving the frazzled doorman a soft-spoken lecture. It doesn’t help that they show up with guns and sword holsters strapped to their backs, long trench coats hiding more weapons from view. They usually never speak to the actual person who sent in the tip. Jinyoung would patiently explain to the doorman why the tenants need to call the citizen’s police for these situations, while Jaebeom fumes behind him at the waste of time and the audacity of the wealthy. 

Only, something is different this time. The building’s receptionist is standing on the wide sidewalk outside the high-rise. She runs to the old, rumbling car when Jaebeom pulls up to the curb in front of the building. Her voice rings through the driver’s side window as she pounds her fists against the glass, “Penthouse! Vampire in the penthouse!”

Jaebeom swings the door open, pushing the woman away. Through her tears, she answers to Jaebeom’s prompting for more information, “A maid reported crashing and screaming coming from the top floor, and the tenant is a vampire.”

“How old is the vampire?” Jaebeom demands. Jinyoung, following behind, places a cautionary hand on Jaebeom’s shoulder. Jaebeom moderates his voice as he continues, explains for the citizen’s sake, “We have to know how to approach them.”

The receptionist sniffles and takes a moment to think before blurting, “Oh! He’s owned the penthouse for a few decades now.” She must remember something else because she’s scrambling to turn her pockets inside out, before she finds a card in her blazer. She offers it to Jaebeom, tells him it will give them access to the top floor. 

“Not a newborn. Strange,” Jinyoung mumbles, his thick eyebrows scrunch in confusion, and a hand reflexively moves to the holster at his side. “Older vampires are usually more discreet.”

With a sour look on his face, Jaebeom responds with the same amount of suspicion as Jinyoung, “We better hurry, the tip said there were two of them.” 

Jaebeom shoulders past the receptionist who cries out _two vampires?_

“You should take the night off,” Jinyoung suggests, patting the scared woman on the back, before he catches up with Jaebeom. She immediately follows instruction, running down the block as they head through the fancy revolving doors into the apartment lobby.

“Elevator,” Jaebeom orders, waving the card the receptionist had given him. Though they usually prefer the stairs, they do need to move as fast as possible if the two vampires have any victims.

The elevator ride to the penthouse is excruciatingly slow, vital minutes ticking past as they wait.

When they reach the top floor of the skyscraper, elevator doors automatically sliding open, the penthouse is eerily silent. The only sign of a disturbance is the mess scattered throughout the apartment, visible from the open concept of the expensive flat. Furniture is up-ended, house plants tipped over, spilling onto the floor, and ominous splashes of bright, fresh blood are splattered on the walls.

Most of the mess is concentrated in the living room, a recessed seating area, with two long couches framing a rather old, chunky television. When they step down into the alcove, a body is visible sprawled on the floor, hidden between the furniture. Both hunters aim their guns at the body, but it remains still, lying face flat on the ground. Jaebeom edges forward to nudge the body over with a steel-toed boot. The throat is ripped out, ragged and bloody, veins and muscle and skin torn violently as the head barely remains connected to the body. What is more unexpected is that the victim appears to be a vampire, rows of jagged teeth on display and wild red eyes wide open in death. Jinyoung, behind Jaebeom’s shoulder, asks, bewildered, “Who did this?”

“The other vampire.” Jaebeom answers grimly. 

“Why?” Jinyoung stresses, before Jaebeom shushes him urgently. A scraping sound floats into the living room from a hallway leading further into the apartment. 

From around the corner, a slippered foot slides over the hardwood hall floor, before a figure appears out of the dark. 

The strange sight makes both of them hesitate for a split second, before they’re both taking aim at the man who turns from around the corner. He’s clad in a silk pajama set. The red of the clothing jarringly matches the swath of blood covering his lower face and neck. Flecks of blood reach his disheveled, yellow blonde hair. 

“They woke me.” This other vampire replies belatedly to Jinyoung, managing to speak through a yawn. When he stretches his arms over his head, the oversized sleeves of his pajama top fall down and pool around his shoulders, revealing arms that are as bloody and messy as his face.

“So you killed him?” Jinyoung asserts, squinting distrustfully at the young looking vampire.

“Well, you weren’t here to take care of them,” the vampire says nonchalantly, though the smirk on his face reveals that he doesn’t seem to regret his decision. “Speaking of, there’s another dead fledgling and their human victim in my bedroom. The human is alive, so you should probably take care of her.” He gestures with a hand down the hallway.

“The tip said there were only two vampires here.” Jaebeom demands, distrusting. Their weapons haven’t wavered from the vampire. 

The blonde vampire huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, “Two rogue fledglings who thought that they could squat here with their meal. I called you to take care of them, but you were too slow so I had to. After they attacked me while I was _sleeping_.”

“We have to take the human to the hospital.” Jinyoung interrupts, edging around the vampire with his gun kept aimed at him. He gives the agitated vampire a wide berth as he scurries down the hallway to investigate.

Jaebeom keeps his shotgun raised and pointed steadily at the suspicious vampire’s chest. The vampire mostly just looks bored now as he inspects his fingernails. They must be covered in blood due to digging into the flesh of the other newborn vampire. Jaebeom thinks he catches the vampire mumbling something about needing a manicure. Jaebeom’s not sure how he would explain that to a nail tech.

After a moment of contemplation, hand held in front of his face, the vampire pops one of his fingers into his mouth. He practically moans at the taste, “Mm... still fresh.”

Jaebeom shifts his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable. He knows that the vampire is referring to the blood of the victim that the fledgling had running through his veins. But he doesn't know how to respond, or if he even should respond. He’s relieved when Jinyoung comes back out of the hallway to draw attention away from the vampire.

Jinyoung’s gently holding the human victim, an arm under their legs and around their back. They look unconscious, but there’s a flush to their cheeks, no visible injuries beyond several neck bites. By the time the elevator doors are closing on Jinyoung saying, “Stay here and identify him.” Jaebeom finally realizes that Jinyoung has smoothly managed to stick him with the most boring part of their job, reporting and recording whatever happened on the call.

“I’m hungry.” The vampire whines once the silence has settled in behind Jinyoung.

“Don’t even think about it,” Jaebeom snaps, eyeing the vampire with disdain. The vampire rolls his eyes as Jaebeom continues through gritted teeth, as he resists the urge to choke out the dramatic vampire, “Who are you? I have to confirm your identity.”

The vampire looks at Jaebeom under his eyelashes, and it would almost be coy, if it didn’t make Jaebeom somehow feel inferior under his gaze. As if he were a bug on the vampire’s floor, only worthy to be squashed under his heel. 

Finally, the vampire answers, “Kunpimook Bhuwakul Bambam.”

Jaebeom pauses. “You might have to spell that for me.”

“If you put the weapon away,” the vampire… Bambam begins with a huff, “We can talk about this with civility.”

Jaebeom hesitates, but Bambam hasn’t tried to do anything questionable yet, and he did claim to call in the rogue newborns. Jaebeom lowers his shotgun from where it had been aimed at the vampire’s chest. He slides the gun into the holster across his back, an eye on Bambam the whole time. Any strange movement while he’s unarmed, and Jaebeom won’t hesitate to pull the gun back out to shoot the vampire. 

Jaebeom clears his throat to cut through the tension in the room. The only other noise is the wet sound of blood hitting onto the hardwood, occasionally dripping from Bambam’s hands. “I have to write up an incident report. You’ll have to tell me what happened from the beginning.”

From his coat, Jaebeom pulls out his phone while he waits for Bambam to begin. He thumbs in his passcode to unlock it, and the Council Database is already open on the screen. Jaebeom creates a new file, and waits for Bambam to start recapping the night. 

But Bambam is silent across from him, and when Jaebeom glances up at him, the vampire’s eyes are locked on Jaebeom’s phone as he asks, “What’s that?” 

“Um,” Jaebeom startles, not expecting this line of questioning. “An iPhone?” Bambam makes a confused noise, and Jaebeom tries, “A cell phone?”

Bambam’s stare is blank before he asks, in a voice so small that it surprises Jaebeom, “That’s a cell phone?”

“You don’t know what it is?” Jaebeom asks.

“That’s not what I would call a cellular phone. It looks so weird.” Bambam replies, voice tentative. 

Jaebeom pauses, baffled, before he remembers the beginning of their conversation, “How long have you been napping exactly? What year is it?”

“Um, I remember going to a party in, like, 1990, I think.” Bambam’s voice cracks.

“It’s 2019.” 

Bambam’s eyes widen, dark brown eyes shining as they catch the ambient lighting in the expensive apartment. He vaguely resembles a deer caught in the headlights.

Well, Jaebeom supposes that explains Bambam’s badly dyed, bleach blonde hair. His roots are most likely purposefully left dark, and he looks like a washed-up boy band member. 

“This is a first,” Bambam mutters, seemingly to himself.

“Vampires tend to sleep for a long time when they do,” Jaebeom offers. “Kind of like a trance.”

“Yeah, I know!” Bambam snaps, voice high and strained. “I hadn’t slept since I was human.”

Jaebeom’s eyebrows raise. “How old are you, exactly?” It’s a little out of curiosity, but he does actually need the information to register Bambam in their database. He clicks open a new file, a profile on Bambam, as he’s searched the records and hadn’t found him. At least, not under that name. 

“I was turned in 1969,” Bambam answers slowly, as the gears grind in his head. “So… Oh my god.”

“Happy 50th?” Jaebeom snickers as he types the information into his phone. 

“Shut up! Oh my god!” Bambam’s staring off into space a little, gaze lost, mouth parted and face frozen.

A bloody hand reaches up to cover his mouth in shock, and Jaebeom decides it's time for him to depart and leave Bambam to his existential crisis. He finished his job, and he can finish writing up the report in the car as he and Jinyoung wait for their next call. He got the gist of what happened in the disheveled apartment, and Bambam seems innocent enough. In this scenario, at least.

Jaebeom just needs one more piece of documentation to add to Bambam’s file. So he lifts up his phone and calls, “Say cheese!”

Jaebeom adds the photo to Bambam’s profile. He really does look like a deer, pretty doe eyes caught wide open in surprise. 

He locks his phone, clearing his throat before hastily leaving the penthouse. He doesn’t look back.

2 //

Jaebeom never donates blood. He’s unsure about the bite in the first place, and the idea of some random vampire enjoying _his blood_ is just too strange to him, in any capacity. Jinyoung, however, willingly donates on occasion. But he’s only ever done so through a human nurse drawing his blood. The other option is the live donation centers... that Jinyoung has finally worked his way up to. It’s his first time donating blood to a vampire directly, and Jaebeom decided to tag along with him. Just in case. And he might be a little curious about what they’re really like, the centers, and donating blood live as well. 

Jaebeom was raised and traumatized to consider a vampire bite as something dangerous, to be feared. He’s seen the aftermath of an attack too often, witnessed too much violence. But of course he can’t miss how people chase after the bite, he’s seen plenty of it on the job. Jaebeom’s heard other stories as well, knows that getting the bite can be sexual, that it usually is, as vampires prefer to have their meal with an orgasm. Going through training to be a hunter had exposed Jaebeom to plenty of locker room talk. He’s never slept with a vampire himself, but he’s known plenty of people who have. Jaebeom can’t help but think of the idea of mixing blood drinking with sex as a little vulgar. The thought practically makes him blush, and he’s a little unsure of what exactly Jinyoung is in for. But they’ve arrived at the donation center finally, and the determined look on Jinyoung’s face says that there’s no turning back now.

Still. A little complaining never hurt to bother Jinyoung. “Seriously, why are we here?” Jaebeom grumbles as he tugs open the glass doors to the fancy, uptown donation center. They’d been in the area, another false alarm gone off, another dud of a night. 

“I just want to help,” Jinyoung replies sincerely. 

“I don’t think that’s why most people get the bite,” Jaebeom muses, petty.

Jinyoung either doesn’t hear, or willfully ignores him, as they’re ushered into a waiting room. The room is bright white, sterile and medical, the only oddity is a deep red chaise, almost ominous in the middle of the small room. 

Jaebeom flashes his hunter badge, and dismisses the guard that had been sitting in a plastic chair in the corner of the room. The man looked practically asleep when they entered, feeble pistol strapped to his hip. Jaebeom may not relate to Jinyoung’s desire to be bitten and fed off of like a conscious bloodbag, but he’s glad he’s here when he sees the lackluster security the center has. He supposes they’re mostly only there for appearances, to intimidate younger vampires. The guards would be no actual match for an older vampire. The more they mature, the stronger and cleverer they become. But as most vampires prefer to find their own meals from willing and begging humans, vampires only come here when they’re in more urgent need. Usually it’s the younger ones who wind up empty-handed and hungry.

For now, they have to wait for the vampire that Jinyoung is feeding to arrive. Jinyoung takes a seat on the chaise, spine straight and alert. Jaebeom leans on the wall furthest from the chaise.

They’d dropped in unexpectedly, and unfortunately it means that they have to wait for a hungry vampire to visit the center. Not that there’s ever really a lack of those around. 

At least the vampires have to be pre-registered in the Database, and Jaebeom doesn’t have to worry about a fledgling walking through the door. He can be off his guard, until there’s reason to be otherwise.

(Besides, his “off guard” just means not actively keeping a hand on his weapon.)

Jaebeom just didn’t expect a vampire that he himself registered earlier that week to walk into the room.

Bambam still looks like he’s stuck in the 90s. Jaebeom can’t believe he’s actually wearing overalls, one button strap left purposefully undone over a colorful t-shirt. Arguably, he should look like he’s wearing a costume, but it works with his bleach blonde hair. He looks like he hopped out of a fashion catalog from that decade, bright and peppy and cute. Jaebeom coughs and looks away before he gets caught staring. 

Bambam’s eyes widen when he takes in who is waiting for him in the donation room.

Jinyoung speaks first, voice surprised but sounding almost pleased, “Hey, we know you!”

Jaebeom swears he can feel a capillary in his forehead burst at Jinyoung’s overdramatic greeting. Somehow, Jaebeom knows that Jinyoung is secretly smug with his ability to annoy Jaebeom in this way. 

The little grin on Bambam’s face grows, while the frown wrinkles around Jaebeom’s lips etch farther into his skin. 

“Hi!” The vampire chirps happily, hands clasped together in excitement to see familiar faces, friendly or not.

Bambam’s eyes flicker between the two hunters, from Jinyoung smiling, self-satisfied, to Jaebeom’s tense figure. “Is this something that’s changed? Hunters never used to donate blood.”

“Well,” Jinyoung starts, clasping his hands together placatingly as he stands from the donor chaise to address Bambam face to face, leaving Jaebeom out of the conversation. “Hunters have become more open-minded, more for the overall good. A lot of us donate these days.”

Yet Bambam is stubborn. He asks, making almost deliberate eye contact with Jaebeom tucked away in the corner of the room, “You both donate?”

“No.” 

Jaebeom’s reply is loud and curt, ending the conversation with finality. But Bambam crosses his arms over his chest and asks in a sharp tone, “Does that mean Jinyoung is more open-minded than you?”

“Sure.” Jaebeom agrees indifferently, staring at the adjacent corner to avoid Bambam’s gaze. 

“Charming.” Bambam bites out.

“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” Jaebeom snaps back. He was prepared to watch over the donation session in silence, but something about Bambam causes him to bristle and overreact. 

“Jaebeom hyung’s parents were killed by a vampire,” Jinyoung, however, freely supplies, reaching over to pat Jaebeom on the shoulder. “Forgive him, he’s a little sensitive.” Jaebeom grunts in response, and shakes off the faux-comforting hand from his shoulder.

But it works to pacify Bambam, he relaxes, his face softening and shoulders slumping as he gives in just a little. “Okay, that’s fair. The bite shouldn’t be forced on anyone anyway. I’m sorry to hear about your parents.”

“I was a kid, it’s been ages. Forget it,” Jaebeom relents, before clearing his throat and redirecting the strained conversation, “They’ll need the room again soon. Just get on with it.”

“Okay, let’s get started, hyung,” Bambam directs at Jinyoung, friendly and familiar as his hands clasp together in excitement. The honorific seems to come naturally to him, he must be used to it, face young and sweet. 

Jinyoung perches on the chaise again, his back turned to Jaebeom and the vampire. To others he might look stony faced and brave awaiting the bite, but Jaebeom can notice the nerves he’s trying to hide. Hands shaking only the slightest, held hidden in his lap, strained shoulders inching up toward his ears. Jaebeom’s almost certain that Bambam can sense Jinyoung’s anxiety as well. 

But Jinyoung talks big as Bambam rounds the chaise to approach him, “You can bite me on the neck, it’s quicker that way.”

Bambam’s dark eyebrows arch, and he looks amused even as he moves to stand in front of Jinyoung. With the hunter seated on the couch, Bambam stands an almost intimidating head taller than him. It’s easy to forget that Bambam is a vampire, something to be feared, when his large doe eyes, casual wardrobe and soft features mislead. 

Still, when he hovers over Jinyoung like a shadow, long and lean pressing into Jinyoung, he pauses to slide a palm over Jinyoung’s throat, to gently tilt his neck to a proper angle. Bambam moves in further and Jaebeom expects him to just get the bite over with, but the young vampire instead whispers into Jinyoung’s ear. Jaebeom doesn’t catch what he says, but it breaks the rigid line of Jinyoung’s shoulders as he lets out a chuckle. 

Bambam’s lips part again, as his two incisors have become too large to fit comfortably anymore. Bambam leans in, and it’s not even his throat under the pressure of fangs, but Jaebeom still feels a shiver run down his spine. He stands frozen, watching as Bambam’s teeth and lips trail down Jinyoung’s neck. Bambam’s eyes flick open suddenly and his gaze catches Jaebeom’s, over Jinyoung’s shoulder. Jaebeom feels helpless under the stare, exposed as he gulps and it feels like Bambam’s eyes trace down his neck.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt,” Bambam practically purrs into Jinyoung’s throat. But he’s still looking at Jaebeom, and he says it loud enough for the other hunter to hear. “You might even like it.”

Bambam’s eyes fluttering closed is the only warning, before both hunters flinch as Bambam’s teeth pierce the skin of Jinyoung’s neck. Bambam punctures the flesh deep enough to draw blood, already taking audible gulps. There’s too much blood, enough to smear past Bambam’s lips, deep red droplets travelling down Jinyoung’s neck. Jinyoung has practically gone limp, but the vampire has a grip under his shoulders, propping Jinyoung up as he drinks. 

As if he could feel the weight of Jaebeom’s eyes on him, Bambam’s flicker back open to catch Jaebeom’s stare. His eyes gleam red when they blink up at Jaebeom. The corner of his mouth, messy and stained red with blood, quirks. Jaebeom can’t bring himself to look away from the sight of Bambam feeding off of Jinyoung. He slowly realizes that the vampire must be holding back. Jaebeom can’t forget the fledgling he’d found in Bambam’s living room, throat torn out. Two sharp teeth couldn’t have been capable of the carnage, the mangled corpse on his living room floor.

But now it’s only Bambam’s soft lips cushioned against the skin of Jinyoung’s neck, almost too delicate.

Jinyoung seems mostly out of it now, head thrown back onto his shoulder and eyelashes fluttering. His chest heaves lightly, and small puffs of exhaled sighs float past his parted lips. Jaebeom hates to admit that he recognizes the particular scrunch of Jinyoung’s thick eyebrows, the breathy moans that his sighs turn into the longer Bambam drinks from him. Jaebeom can feel his face burn, matching Jinyoung’s flushed cheeks. What leaves Jaebeom a little disoriented, dizzy and maybe a little turned on as well is that Bambam seems just as affected as the both of them. His eyes have squeezed back closed, tiny pleased noises low in his throat. Jaebeom feels light-headed, as if he were the one losing blood to satiate the vampire. 

It’s only been a few minutes, if even that, of Bambam drinking, but it’s felt like hours, time slowed in the little bubble that the three have created for themselves in the small room. 

When Bambam releases Jinyoung’s neck, pulling away to leave two bloody holes exposed, Jaebeom snaps back to reality. The large fangs in Bambam’s mouth have disappeared, but the wound on Jinyoung’s neck remains, even as Bambam licks over the damaged skin. Jaebeom finally recoils at the sight, finally looks away, broken from the daze he’d fallen into. He doesn’t want to think about what any of this means, what it means that he had to snap closed his mouth that had dropped open, that he could practically feel his own blood rushing through his veins as Bambam drew blood from Jinyoung’s.

Jaebeom swallows, but his mouth is dry. 

Jinyoung is slowly blinking himself back to awareness, where Bambam has reclined him carefully onto the back of the chaise. 

“Hi,” the usually formidable hunter says dopily, as his eyelids droop. Jaebeom internalizes a laugh, he hadn’t expected Jinyoung to be this affected from a bite, neck or otherwise. Jaebeom doesn’t know much, but he wonders vaguely if Bambam is inexperienced. If maybe he’d taken too much blood and left Jinyoung a little loopier than usual. If maybe Bambam had been too excited to finally have blood after napping for a few decades. 

His speculation is almost confirmed when Bambam hovers over Jinyoung, this time nervous and flustered, hands fluttering over Jinyoung. He asks, uncertain as his gaze flicks to Jaebeom, “Are you okay, Jinyoung hyung?”

Jinyoung’s face is red and flushed, eyelids heavy, and he’s mumbling into the cushion of the chaise. The words are almost lost with his face squished against the fabric, but Jaebeom can make out Jinyoung saying in slurred Satoori, “Think I came in my pants.”

Bambam clearly hears as well, evidenced by the sheepish look on his face.

Jaebeom’s reaction is sufficiently scandalized, mouth opening and closing like a fish. But he still glances down to check if Jinyoung is going to embarrass himself leaving the donation center. The front of his khaki pants are unstained, and he’s still hard, tenting the cloth. Jaebeom laughs a little, says to Jinyoung, “Nah, you’re good.”

“Then I’m gonna come in my pants.” Jinyoung huffs out.

Jaebeom snorts, “Can it wait until I get you home?”

Bambam watches their exchange, glancing between the two hunters. He looks contemplative, squinting a little as he puts his thoughts together. 

Jaebeom notices the strange look on Bambam’s face, and he sighs, not wanting to hear whatever irritating jab Bambam has created in his head. Instead Jaebeom asks, “So he’s basically just horny?”

“It seems so,” Bambam confirms, composing himself after taking Jinyoung’s pulse. “He’ll be fine. It affects people differently, especially when so much blood is taken, as with a neck bite.”

“Do people usually react like this with you?” Jaebeom blurts, before he can catch his own words from embarrassing himself. 

But he doesn’t expect Bambam to blush, even though plenty of Jinyoung’s blood in his veins allows him to. Bambam had seemed shameless enough just a minute ago, hard-on obvious in his denim overalls, matching Jinyoung. The vampire replies, almost stuttering now, “For me—I mean, for vampires, y’know in general…” Bambam trails off, hoping that Jaebeom will interrupt and spare him from answering.

Pleased to have the upper hand against the vampire, Jaebeom urges him on, amused at Bambam’s rambling, “Yeah?”

“Well, blood, um, drinking it, it’s—I guess we’re just used to associating it with sex.” Bambam continues, spluttering, messing with the buckle on the strap of his overall. “Like yeah, it’s a rush and it makes us able to have sex, so it’s just natural. For us to put them together. And humans get off on the bite anyway, so. Win win, right?”

Jaebeom blinks, before he can reply, Bambam makes a high-pitched squeaking, screaming noise that sounds like _never mind!_

Jinyoung sits up on the chaise, hands knitted and sitting beneath his chin, as he interrupts happily, “I think we can leave now.”

Jaebeom wonders how long he was just letting Bambam talk to embarrass them all, for his own entertainment. 

3 //

They don’t see Bambam for a while after the donation. They haven’t had much time for Jinyoung (and Jaebeom with him, _“I’m your partner, dammit.”_) to stop by any blood centers. They’ve been caught up with missions, the number of fledglings rising in recent weeks. The hunters at the Council whisper about an elder turning newborns and abandoning them after, leaving them rogue. It’s dangerous and against the law, and somehow Jaebeom and Jinyoung are saddled to deal with it by themselves. 

Normally Jaebeom would be happy for them to work alone. This time, however, he thinks that the Council is endangering them, especially if they’re meant to be chasing an elder vampire making an army of violent newborns. The Council’s lack of concern makes him wary. They’ve never faced problems on a mission before, and it’s given them a good reputation, but now it seems to be coming back around to bite them in their asses. Jaebeom expects a bonus, or a break after this. Not that they’re likely to get either.

Naturally, Jaebeom and Jinyoung both sulk on their way to the coordinates they’ve received from the Council.

Strangely enough, they’re lead to the line of a human club. Jinyoung looks just a little too pleased when they’re allowed in without even having to flash their badges, the bouncer simply looking them up and down before waving them through.

The club is loud and dark, EDM blasting and bodies writhing on the dance floor that takes up almost all of the room in the building. 

Before they move further into the club, Jaebeom catches Jinyoung’s elbow and tugs him closer to shout into his ear, “Look around here, I’ll search out back!” 

They split up, though it’s more dangerous for them, leaving a rogue vampire alone to rampage in a densely packed group of humans is even more dangerous. Dividing to conquer is necessary too often, and Jaebeom hates making that call, but he’s left no other choice when the Council doesn’t provide enough resources on the tougher missions.

After sweeping the tiny back rooms for any sign of trouble, Jaebeom finds an emergency exit, the bright fluorescent sign flickering over the door. When he creaks open the metal door, outside is a small parking lot behind the club, dark and ominous in the quiet night. Faint wet noises echo throughout the lot as Jaebeom slowly eases the heavy door closed behind him after he steps out. 

Through the beam of the moon and the artificial city lights that permeate the night sky, the parking lot is dimly lit. Dark, large, shapes of cars are visible as Jaebeom squints, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the scant lighting. He can pick up a small sound that strikes him as odd. It’s definitely made by a person, ringing in the empty parking lot. It originates from behind a large van, near the end of the lot by a brick wall.

Jaebeom creeps toward the van, one tentative footstep after the other, to prevent giving away his presence. He stops to crouch on his side of the van, but before he rounds the corner around the front of the car, he pauses to listen. The sound he picked up was definitely crying, as whoever is hiding on the other side of the car is clearly hiccupping through their tears, the faint sound of sobs barely audible, as if they’re trying to muffle the crying.

The tip of Jaebeom’s shotgun rounds the corner of the van before he follows. 

“Hands up!” Jaebeom warns as he takes in the sight. On the asphalt lays a limp body, arms and neck bloody and bitten, up and down the length of bare skin. But the body is practically lifeless, not the source of the crying. Another person is huddled next to the back tire of the van, head tucked between their legs and arms curled around themself.

“What the hell happened here?” Jaebeom barks out, gun turned to the mysterious figure still sobbing into their knees.

When they look up, Jaebeom’s stomach turns. It’s a vampire, face covered in blood and row of misfitting, large teeth on display. His mouth is stretched, too long, deformed and sinister. Tears and snot and blood mix, running down the vampire’s face.

Jaebeom immediately connects the dots and cocks his gun, finger on the trigger. He expects the vampire to react more strongly, but the boy merely blinks and looks resigned with his fate. 

“I killed her, it’s my fault.” Jaebeom makes out the vampire mumbling, repeating through his wet hiccuping. 

This is a little unexpected. Fledglings are usually out of their mind, but this one seems to appear sane enough to be feeling guilt and remorse. He must have been feeding off the girl slowly enough to come to his senses and realize what he was doing. Jaebeom almost pities him. He can’t imagine regaining awareness only to find that he’d killed someone. 

Jaebeom surveils his options. He can take out the vampire, maybe putting him out of his own misery, or somehow restrain him. They usually don’t have to when dealing with the fledglings, it’s usually too impossible. Fledglings, when starved and without the guiding hand of the person who Turned them, become feral. Putting them down before they hurt anyone is usually the only option. But this one seems rather subdued, for now, at least.

Before he can make a decision, a weight is careening into Jaebeom’s side, sudden enough to knock him off his feet and onto the hard concrete. Pain instantly blossoms up his side where he lands on the solid ground, shotgun sent skittering off into the distance, knocked under a car. 

Although disoriented, Jaebeom’s years of training kick in as he bucks the assailant off him with his hips. Jaebeom pushes himself up quickly, to press a heel onto their chest.

Jaebeom’s surprised with who he sees under his steel-toed boot, he growls, “Bambam? The fuck are you doing here?”

“Don’t kill him.” Bambam pleads underfoot, hands moving to wrap around Jaebeom’s booted ankle. 

“Who said I was going to?” Jaebeom challenges, pushing harder down onto the vampire’s chest, ribs practically creaking at the pressure. Bambam coughs under his heel, knobby fingers nimbly moving to creep under the cinched end of Jaebeom’s combat pants.

“Hunters,” Bambam wheezes, wrapping his hand to squeeze too tightly around Jaebeom’s bare leg, fingernails biting into skin. Jaebeom grunts and shakes the pinching grip off him as Bambam finishes, “You’re all the same.”

Jaebeom decides to ignore the jab, instead demanding, pointing at the vampire still curled by the van. “Who is he? Do you know him?” 

“I know he hurt that girl, and we need to help her.” Bambam argues, picking himself up on one elbow. Jaebeom’s foot reluctantly moves to allow him to sit up.

“She’s dead.” Jaebeom replies, voice wavering.

“Her heart is still beating, I can hear it.” Bambam explains as he moves to the victim’s side, turning her over.

“Creepy.” Jaebeom mutters to himself, at least having the decency to flush when Bambam says _heard that_.

“Yugyeom basically drained her. If he turns her, we can save her,” Bambam suggests, cradling the girl in his arms. 

Jaebeom visibly recoils at the idea. “What? No, she’s dying. You can’t put her through that too.”

“Would you rather she actually die? Yugyeom can save her,” Bambam reiterates, cutting over Jaebeom’s argument, voice loud and sharp. “Yugyeom, come here.”

The fledgling, Yugyeom, crawls over to Bambam’s side, apparently familiar enough with the other vampire to obey him and follow his lead. 

“You can’t do this,” Jaebeom disputes, almost frantic, “She didn’t agree to this!”

“She didn’t agree to die!” Bambam defends, annoyed and distracted as he tries to guide Yugyeom. He turns back to the newborn vampire to begin explaining how to turn the victim.

“Are you going to take care of her? This fledgling can’t, and now you’ll have two on your hands,” Jaebeom continues to argue, voice raising in pitch and urgency. “You can’t control them, and they’ll kill people. Look what he’s already done!”

“Yugyeom is fixing his mistakes! She’ll be fine!” Bambam shouts, taking hold of Yugyeom’s wrist as he starts directing him, “Bite your wrist, and drip the blood into her mouth.”

Jaebeom isn’t even really sure what to do, he’s frozen in place, a little in shock at the scene unfolding in front of him. Stuck watching as the two vampires take care of the problem Yugyeom created.

As Yugyeom follows his instructions, Bambam addresses Jaebeom, “I have a coven I can take her to, they’ll take her in. And I’ll keep Yugyeom on a tighter leash.”

Jaebeom tries to shake himself from his stupor, as there’s nothing he can do now that Yugyeom has given the girl his blood. Before Jaebeom can create a plan, the door to the club is swinging open, metal door clanging against brick wall. Jinyoung stands in the doorway, rifle at the ready as he calls out, “Jaebeom hyung?”

“Out here, Jinyoung,” Jaebeom says back, eyes focused on Yugyeom’s wrist, red blood dripping over the purpling, dying lips of his victim. Jaebeom’s glad Jinyoung is here with him, the reason they work in pairs is for moments like this, when one of them makes a mistake. Jaebeom would call this a big mistake.

“What…,” Jinyoung trails off as he turns the corner, not expecting the sight of two vampires crouched over a body, Jaebeom helplessly watching over them. Jinyoung restarts, “What is happening?”

“Bambam’s fledgling killed a human.” Jaebeom answers in a grunt, gestures to them.

“He’s fixing it, he’s Turning her!” Bambam groans in response, as Yugyeom starts tearing up again at Jaebeom’s blunt words.

“Okay,” Jinyoung starts slowly, he asks Bambam, “You have a fledgling? Since when?”

Yugyeom finishes feeding the girl, and carefully arranges her on the ground as they wait for her to awaken. If she doesn’t soon, they may have to relocate with her.

All of them are caught watching as Yugyeom takes off his coat to throw over his victim, before he sits back onto his heels by their side. After a moment, Bambam addresses the elephant in the room, “Yugyeom isn’t mine, I found him around town a while ago. I think he was abandoned.”

Jinyoung speculates, “Probably by that elder vampire.”

“Yeah, and I’ve just been looking after him. He got past me tonight.” Bambam says, voice small.

“It’s okay,” Jinyoung hums, placing a gentle hand on Bambam’s his shoulder. “You did the best you could. It’s okay now.”

Jaebeom gapes as Jinyoung comforts the vampires, and he angrily bites out, “It’s not okay, this Yugyeom kid killed that girl!” This isn’t exactly the help with this that Jaebeom wanted from Jinyoung.

“He Turned her, she’ll come back,” Jinyoung placates, “It was an accident.”

“She’ll come back as a vampire,” Jaebeom snarls, and Bambam looks vaguely ill, posture uncomfortable and folded into himself. But Jaebeom can’t help but continue, angry and shocked, distressed at what he witnessed, “She didn’t want this. I wouldn’t want this!”

“It’s not the worst option,” Bambam interrupts from where he’s moved to Yugyeom’s side, arm around his young fledgling’s shoulder.

“It shouldn’t even be an option!” Jaebeom snaps, pacing around the small parking lot.

Electricity restlessly crackles in the air, as Jaebeom and Bambam stare each other down. Bambam slowly smiles, teeth straight and strained as he says carefully, “Thank you for being so disgusted by my existence.”

Jaebeom groans, hands reaching into his hair, sweaty and greasy at this point. He pulls at the strands, exasperated as he takes a deep breath through his nose before he says, “That’s not what I mean. She didn’t have a choice.”

“I’ll be sure to let you die if you’re ever in this situation.” Bambam says coolly, face flat and devoid of emotion. 

Jinyoung winces for the both of them, before he tries to interrupt, “Okay, you guys.”

They’re both overwhelmed, short-tempered and stressed from the situation. Jinyoung knows Jaebeom will regret his words. But it’s already too late to salvage the situation, the terse moment ended as Jaebeom moves to retrieve his shotgun from the car it skidded under. 

“I’ll write up the report,” Jinyoung sighs wearily, mostly to himself as Jaebeom is already stalking out of the lot after retrieving his weapon. Directed at Bambam, Jinyoung asks, “Can you start from the beginning?”

“I guess we have time.” Bambam agrees, glancing to where Yugyeom is sitting vigil next to the girl, her face peaceful even with bloodstained lips.

Jinyoung follows his gaze, and gently prods, “Where are you going to take her?”

Bambam blinks up at Jinyoung, “I took another fledgling I found to this coven in Itaewon. They should have room for her, they take strays in.”

“Why didn’t you leave Yugyeom there?” Jinyoung asks, distracted as the gears in his head grind.

“He was funny and we get along,” Bambam smiles genuinely. “I care about him.”

Jinyoung smiles with him, contemplating before suggesting, “Say, Bambam, since you keep stumbling across abandoned newborns…”

Jaebeom was furious when he heard that Jinyoung had gotten permission from the Council to use Bambam as an official consultant on the elder vampire case they’ve been working on. 

4 //

Bambam and Jaebeom didn’t get off on the right foot, to say the least. Ever since Jaebeom refused to let Yugyeom turn that girl without a fight, Bambam has deferred to Jinyoung when meeting with them, purposefully ignoring Jaebeom at any given turn. That only lasted as long as Jaebeom’s patience did, when he’d pulled himself up to full height, heavy boots adding several intimidating inches that he utilized to invade Bambam’s space. Jinyoung doesn’t think that Jaebeom noticed, but Bambam’s face didn’t exactly look scared. Jinyoung thinks Bambam pacifies Jaebeom by shrinking back just enough to make him feel like he won the fight. 

Unfortunately once they started talking again, the fights never stopped. The many frequent fights that have caused quite a few headaches for Jinyoung, having to mediate between the two to avoid an explosive argument. Which would only give him a migraine, probably. Jinyoung is tired of being caught between the venomous words, sarcasm and spite swapped in an effort to get under each other’s skin. Jaebeom and Bambam seem to always forget Jinyoung exists, especially for two people who try to insist on ignoring each other at every other instance. Neither of them can last very long though, death stares drilling into the back of the other’s skull, an angry middle finger waved aggressively (that, admittedly, amused Jinyoung who caught it as Bambam gestured behind Jaebeom’s back).

After about the fiftieth fight, Jinyoung starts to catch on. Bambam seems to enjoy picking at Jaebeom’s nerves enough to make him snap. He always has a little smirk on his face, devilish and a little endearing. Jinyoung’s not sure if he gets pleasure out of irritating Jaebeom, if he just likes riling him up, or if it’s the fact that Jaebeom fights back that entertains Bambam. Maybe he likes the challenge? Jaebeom is definitely that, if nothing else. Jinyoung would know. Working with him every day, especially these days, is a challenge. 

Jinyoung sighs loudly, but no one pays him any attention.

The latest in the series of Jaebeom and Bambam’s verbal tumbles starts when Bambam shows up late to meeting them, a block away from the donation center. He’d obviously just arrived from there, a smudge of drying blood swiped across his chin. Even if he hadn’t joked, a breezy apology, “Sorry I was late, stopped for a meal.” Jaebeom still likely would have snapped.

“Do you have to eat people.” Jaebeom jabs, short and rude. But he has secretly been wondering since the first night Jinyoung had donated blood to the vampire. Other centers specialize in more clinical approaches, phlebotomists drawing blood to serve vampires without a live donation. Live donations seem so… intimate and exhausting. If not physically, then mentally, emotionally. Jinyoung had been out of sorts for the rest of the night, tired and horny for hours after the bite. Jaebeom had a frustrating night trying to get him back to their apartment in the first place. 

But Bambam is too calm in his response, only irritating Jaebeom further, “I don’t eat people, hyung.”

Jinyoung’s gaze flicks between the two, and he notices that Bambam seems colder than usual, no cheeky smile on his face, no mischievous glint in his eye. Jaebeom really fucked up this time, Jinyoung muses.

“Don’t call me that,” Jaebeom hisses. Since the beginning, before their initial fallout, Bambam has been too friendly for his comfort. “You’re not even Korean.”

“I’ve been living here longer than you’ve been alive,” Bambam teases, a smirk growing on his face, “So maybe you should call me hyung?”

“Hell no.” Jaebeom says, eyes scanning Bambam’s face, young and sweet, fluffy cheeks and pink lips. Although it’s mostly bravado, Jaebeom grips the handgun tucked into the holster over his ribs. After clearing his throat, Jaebeom continues, “I found your old file. You were Turned when you were 20.”

“Oh, so you’ve been researching me? You think I’m interesting?” Bambam asks, stepping closer as if he calls Jaebeom’s bluff.

Jaebeom hesitates, but lets go of his gun. He wouldn’t actually shoot Bambam just for getting on his nerves, no matter how much he wants to toss the vampire out on his ass. Plus, the look on Jinyoung’s face says enough, flat and silently angry.

“If you really want to know,” Bambam pauses, as his long fingers curl into the lapel of Jaebeom’s coat to tug him nearer. Their faces are too close, but Jaebeom can’t bring himself to pull away, focus caught on Bambam’s every word, “Fresh blood tastes so much better than that bagged shit.”

Jaebeom chokes on a forced laugh, left a little off kilter by Bambam’s humor, and the proximity of their bodies. Jaebeom can feel his own heartbeat picking up, and he's embarrassed when he realizes that Bambam can sense it, in the way that his pupils dilate and his nostrils flare almost imperceptibly. They’re close enough together for Jaebeom to notice the flutter of Bambam’s eyelashes when he looks up from under his lids.

But Bambam continues lightly, ignoring the new tension between them, “It’s like a bag of potato chips. They get stale if you leave them sitting open.” 

“Ew,” Jinyoung chimes in, if only to dissipate the uncomfortable energy between the pair standing too close. Jinyoung’s not sure how he’s caught practically third-wheeling them. “Doesn’t feel great to be compared to chips.”

Bambam’s instantly back to his bright self again when he bounces over to Jinyoung, eyes fluttering and lip jutting as he pouts, “Sorry, hyung! You tasted great! Like a human, not a potato.”

Jaebeom lets out a more genuine snort of laughter, Bambam’s theatrics easier to handle when they’re not directed at him. Jinyoung glances over at Jaebeom and smiles. He thinks that maybe they can all learn to work together, after all.

After a few more days, responding to calls and a few more fledglings found, Jinyoung starts to regret having that thought. He probably jinxed everything.

5 //

Jaebeom’s on mandatory rounds of the city streets. It’s just past dusk, and he’s without Jinyoung for a once in a blue moon occurrence. Jinyoung’s gone to a meeting about the newborn crisis. They’ve been having more and more attacks, and Jaebeom hates dealing with the hunters on the Council, so Jinyoung will relay any pertinent information to him. Jaebeom might be the pseudo-leader of their team of two, but Jinyoung’s always been more pragmatic, better with jumping through the bureaucratic hoops. They’d agreed to this dynamic ever since that time Jaebeom snapped at a veteran hunter, one of the old men who sat on the Council. Disagreeing with the Council usually led to getting the boot, but luckily for Jaebeom, they hadn’t been able to bring themselves to fire one of their star hunters.

So for tonight, Jaebeom’s been stuck with a trainee. The trainee looks like a baby, all shiny eyed and cherub cheeked. The kid had been a little too excited for Jaebeom when he’d introduced himself, “I’m Hwang Hyunjin, Jaebeom-ssi! Can I call you hyung? We’ve met before!”

Hyunjin had claimed that Jaebeom and Jinyoung had taught a seminar at his high school in his first year. While it sounds like something the Council, along with Jinyoung, would have forced him to do in the early years, Jaebeom can’t recall it for the life of him. But he nods along as Hyunjin gabs on about how much he admires the hunters, how they made him want to join the organization after school. Jaebeom grimaces a bit as he thinks about how he joined the hunters at the same age, but he lets Hyunjin ramble on. Jaebeom doesn’t want to think about how he’s been serving the Council for a decade now, would rather let Hyunjin distract him. They are forced together in the car for the rest of the night after all, rumbling as it idles where they’re parked in an alley across the street from a well-known vampire club.

It’s safe enough to be here with Hyunjin, even if the kid thinks it’s the shadiest location ever. Jaebeom knows the owner, an old vampire who’s run the place as long as Jaebeom has been around. They rarely have problems in this area. 

Of course, it’s tonight, while Hyunjin is going on about a mission of Jaebeom and Jinyoung’s he’d heard about, that changes.

A knock against the passenger side window sends Hyunjin shrieking and ducking. Jaebeom blinks and sighs at the boy’s overreaction, says when he sees who’s waiting outside the car, “Hyunjin, roll down the window.” 

Hyunjin sheepishly looks up from where he’s tucked himself between his legs. Jaebeom can’t say that he’s surprised, trainees always do this. After clearing his throat, Hyunjin moves to jerkily roll down the old manual window. 

As soon as the window has made its way down, a figure leans in, and says, “Hey Jaebeom hyung!”

Jaebeom sighs, even more put upon, “Bambam.”

“Bambam?” Hyunjin squeaks from where he’s pressed against the back of the carseat. Bambam leans back through the window out of Hyunjin’s space when he pipes up.

“What is it Bambam?” Jaebeom asks tiredly, as he angles over Hyunjin himself to squint out the window into the dark of the alleyway. 

The moon shines into the street, and it illuminates Bambam’s face along with the neon lights burning across the street. He looks serious and dark in an all black outfit, topped off with sunglasses, even though it’s the middle of the night. Bambam’s face remains unreadable when he says, “Follow me.” Before he turns around and starts to leave down the opening of the alley.

Jaebeom shouts out a “Hey!” that gets ignored. Annoyed, he turns off the ignition and hops out of the car. 

Hyunjin follows, scrambling out of the passenger side. He tries to open the glove compartment, asking frantically, “Can I have a gun?”

“No!” Jaebeom barks, as if he’d give a trainee a gun. Hyunjin’s already freaked out once tonight. Jaebeom’s one pistol, in experienced hands, will due for whatever Bambam is leading them to. It can’t be that bad, or the vampire probably would’ve been more dramatic about getting Jaebeom’s attention.

Though, leaving without him is a little dramatic, especially since they’ve been getting along rather well recently.

“Are we really following him?” Hyunjin asks meekly, steps closely behind as Jaebeom rounds the corner that Bambam just turned.

“Yes, get a move on,” Jaebeom insists.

Hyunjin gulps, “You’re so brave, hyung.”

“Don’t you want to be a hunter? This is what it’s like. C’mon,” Jaebeom urges, grabs Hyunjin’s shoulder in a rough pat. 

“I guess.” Hyunjin falters, trips over his own feet and falls into Jaebeom’s back when the hunter abruptly stops moving in front of him. He peeks over Jaebeom’s shoulder to see that they’ve turned into a dead-end street. 

Bambam is standing at the end of the alley, tall, dark figure almost threatening in the evening night.

In the middle of the small street, a body laid sprawled across the cracked ground. There’s a small pool of blood beneath them, and it shines sinisterly in the moonlight.

“Hyung!” Hyunjin whimpers, scared as he clings onto Jaebeom’s jacket. “Are they dead?”

“Are they?” Jaebeom drives at Bambam, “How’d you know they were here?”

“I stumbled on them on my way to the club just now. I recognized your car parked over there,” Bambam explains, voice small in the deep night. “They’ve been drained. They’re Turning.”

“Another fledgling?” Jaebeom demands, and Hyunjin’s fist in his jacket uncurls at the familiar problem. Once he’s free from the strong, scared grip on his coat, Jaebeom walks over to the unconscious body, crouches next to it to examine what happened to the person.

Hyunjin stays a fair distance away, but pulls a little flip notebook and pencil out to record observations. Hyunjin says cheerfully, once the idea of a threat is gone, “Hyung is so cool! He always gets the best missions!”

“We’re still just patrolling, I’m calling this in and then we’ll get back to the car.” Jaebeom dismisses, before pulling his phone out to do as he says.

Bambam saunters over to Jaebeom’s side where he’s still crouched next to the body, to place a hand on his shoulder. “Who’s the puppy?” Bambam asks, loud enough for Hyunjin to hear.

“A trainee,” Jaebeom stands up, and shakes Bambam’s hand off, even when he pouts at the rejection. “Hyunjin.” Jaebeom gestures at the boy then at the vampire, “And Bambam, as you met.”

“Nice to meet you Bambam hyung?” Hyunjin says tentatively, not sure how to address the vampire. He’s a little intimidated, not so much by his vampire status, but by the glare the vampire currently seems to be aiming at him, unnoticed by Jaebeom who replies to someone over text.

Bambam doesn’t spare Hyunjin from his sweating, lets the boy flounder as he turns to Jaebeom, “I thought it was just you, me and Jinyoung? Is Hyunjin joining us now?”

Jaebeom barks out a laugh. “What? We’re not a team. What if he did? Would you be jealous?”

Bambam’s face immediately drops, and the contempt on his face is palpable, “You wouldn’t find all these fledglings before they attack someone, without me!”

The poison in Bambam’s voice only triggers anger in Jaebeom as he practically spits, voice bouncing against the walls of the alley that boxes them in, “They’re tips, you’re giving us tips. You’re not a part of anything with us, you’re a vampire.” 

Hyunjin edges his way out of the alley little by little, as the two arguing grow angrier and orbit closer together, intensity of the clash amplifying. 

“Tips?” Bambam shouts, hands pulling through his hair, brown roots exposed. “Here’s a tip: stop being such an asshole!”

Hyunjin, peeking around the corner, half expects Bambam to disappear into thin air or to turn into a bat. The vampire looks furious, sunglasses long gone, cracked against a brick wall when Bambam had thrown them in the heat of the moment. Instead, the vampire turns and ends the conversation by slipping into a back door that had been propped open by a wedge. Jaebeom tries to follow, but Bambam kicks the wedge out and allows the heavy door to snap closed, almost catching Jaebeom’s fingers and causing him to yelp out, “_Fuck_!”

Jinyoung has strong words for Jaebeom on their next mission.

“You pissed off our lead correspondent and now we won’t be able to find newly turned fledglings?”

… 

“Yes.”

It hadn’t ended well for Jaebeom. He was stuck with desk duty, sorting and filing old records, while Jinyoung went to track down Bambam to try to mend over their working relationship. 

6 //

Jinyoung hadn’t gotten Bambam to agree to work with them again after that night. Jinyoung claims that Bambam had slammed the door in his face, but Jaebeom clearly remembers his penthouse only having an elevator as an entrance, so he’s a little suspicious. Still, no Bambam leads to no fledglings. Jaebeom may be starting to see how having a vampire on their side is convenient. He does seem to be the most adept at sniffing out newborns, as the only thing they’ve found since he left is the aftermath of a violent Turning. 

Jaebeom’s known that they’re being toyed with by some elder vampire, but recently he feels like two vampires are playing with him. On top of the fledgling reports they’ve been responding to, everyday they’ve begun to receive calls about vampire bite victims. Which isn’t unusual, but the rate they’ve been getting them is strange. 

The victims are always alive, only a healing bite mark or two on their wrist or neck. By the fourth day in a row finding a bite victim, Jaebeom started to grow wary. The humans are always left somewhere in public, an alleyway or side street, and the anonymous call that reports them must be by the vampire. They always arrive right after the feeding, victim still unconscious, bite mark bleeding and fresh. After five consistent days and victims, It seems purposeful enough to itch under Jaebeom’s skin.

Jaebeom’s crawling suspicions are justified when Jinyoung finally gives in after the sixth victim, agreeing that the actions are too repetitive and similar. 

On the seventh day, the victim is… not a victim. After they receive the familiar call, Jaebeom and Jinyoung wind up at the vampire club Jaebeom had been patrolling with Hyunjin last weekend. They find a man slumped on the curb outside the club, though he’s very much awake this time, besides being drunk and disoriented. Possibly off both alcohol and the bite.

“Do you know where you are?” Jinyoung asks him, gesturing to the flickering neon lights behind them that show bright red lips and reads _Fangs_ in curly script.

“Vamp bar.” The man grunts his answer, hand moving up the side of his neck to poke at the two gaping holes in his neck.

Jinyoung blinks, surprised at the coherent answer. “Well, yes. Do you know why you’re here?”

“Hooking up with a vamp,” the man shrugs, “but he left after he bit me. Little hurtful, but it’s chill.”

“It’s chill?” Jaebeom practically snarls, “A vampire bit you, but it’s chill?”

“I mean, I agreed to it?” The man shrinks back from Jaebeom’s glare. 

“What he means is,” Jinyoung pauses to send his own frown at Jaebeom, “What did the vampire look like?”

“Um, tall, skinny,” the man stutters out, intimidated, “He was wearing a blazer with, like shoulder pads?”

Jaebeom’s jaw clenches as he grits through his teeth, “Bambam.”

“Yeah!” the man exclaims, “That’s what he said his name was.”

“So all of this because Bambam is throwing a hissy fit?” Jaebeom angrily directs at Jinyoung, but the drunk, bite-dizzy man between them, still plopped on the curb nods along.

“He’s trying to get our attention,” Jinyoung argues, “He probably wants you to apologize.”

“He’s acting like a brat.” Jaebeom grumbles.

Jinyoung snorts, “So are you. Match made in heaven. Now go apologize and fix this.”

Jaebeom does not go apologize, or fix “this”. He very pointedly does not go to visit Bambam at his expensive, bougie apartment. He does not pick up his cellphone to call Bambam and beg for forgiveness, no matter how much Jinyoung nags at him to do so.

Jaebeom maybe pulls up Bambam’s contact information a few times. His thumb might hover over the call button, but he doesn’t go through with it. The first or fiftieth time that he picks up the phone. 

Eventually, Jaebeom sighs and tosses his phone into one of the car’s cup holders. It’s another quiet night of patrolling, and they’re currently refilling gas in Jaebeom’s old Hyundai Excel. The dull yellow paint on the car is chipping, but Jaebeom hasn’t changed anything since he bought it used like this. It reminds him of the car his mother had in his childhood. 

Jaebeom taps his fingers against the cracked leather steering wheel to pass the time. The gas has long stopped filling, his gas tank only irritatingly holds a few gallons. In fact, he’s starting to wonder what’s taking Jinyoung so long in the gas station’s shop.

With a long-winded sigh, Jaebeom opens the car door with a slight struggle, the handle jamming quite often recently. Jaebeom vaguely thinks he should get it fixed before it gives him real trouble one day. For now, at least, the night is quiet and no one else is even parked at the gas station this late. With more hassle, Jaebeom slams the car door before heading into the store.

The overhead bell tinkles when Jaebeom opens the glass doors, and the bored, lone cashier at the front looks up at the noise. The cashier quickly turns back to the magazine they’d been reading, unentertained by Jaebeom’s presence. 

The station store is tiny, easy for Jaebeom to locate Jinyoung. What’s strange is that Jinyoung is talking to somebody else, his familiar voice filling the small quarters as he is saying, “—not that easy.”

“Jinyoung-ah,” Jaebeom calls, and Jinyoung’s head peeks around a tall stack of chips further down the shop aisles. Jaebeom continues once he’s caught Jinyoung’s attention, “Who are you talking to?”

“None of your business.” Bambam retorts as his head pops over another shelf, eyebrows scrunched in irritation. 

“Did you agree to get over yourself and help us?” Jaebeom asks with a sigh, arms crossing over his chest. In his peripheral vision, he notices the human cashier start to pay attention to their conversation. 

Bambam’s voice pitches in annoyance as he exclaims, too loud in the small shop, “No!” He circles around the aisles to move closer to Jaebeom, invading his space, “You never apologize and I’m sick of it! I’ve had enough of working with you, jerk.” He emphasizes his point with a finger jabbing repeatedly into Jaebeom’s chest, above his tightly crossed arms.

“What about the fledglings?” Jaebeom asks, trying to appea to Bambam’s kindness. “You don’t care about them anymore?”

Bambam scoffs and snatches his hand back to cross his own arms, defensive. “You said you were doing fine before I showed up, so do that again.”

Jaebeom swipes his face with the palm of one hand and groans. At the same time, the bell to the gas station shop tinkles, signalling a new customer in the store. Aware that it’s even less private now, Jaebeom takes a step closer to Bambam, to grab his elbow and hiss, “Can we talk about this outside?”

Bambam rolls his eyes and yanks his elbow from Jaebeom’s grip, but brushes past Jaebeom to lead the way outside. Jinyoung sighs behind them as they leave, staying behind to pay for the snacks stacked in his arms.

They venture to the dark side of the station store, an unlit empty area with two small parking spaces behind the shop. Bambam whirls around, long fashionable black trench coat flying dramatically behind him. His coat is wide open over a black turtleneck, and dark jeans with a shiny designer belt. His hands are placed on his thin hips, long fingers spanning easily. He actually looks like the vampire he is for once, black on black paired with a high heel. His hair is dark now, too, though Jaebeom doesn’t want to think about how different he looks. Somehow he seems more mature, high cheekbones and aura almost intimidating with the poisonous glare on his face. 

Jaebeom gulps. He can’t really blame himself for being attracted to a vampire, can he? It’s not just him, it’s not just Bambam.

Jaebeom just hasn’t spent enough time with any other vampires to have experienced this strange feeling. He’s not the first human to take an interest in a vampire, and he’s sure he’s not the first human to take a specific interest to _Bambam_. 

He’s enticing, alluring. Jaebeom wants to know him, learn him, memorize everything about him. But it’s hard to reconcile that with the part of him that is unnerved by what Bambam is, that he drinks blood, feeds himself off of people to live. Jaebeom doesn’t want to admit to himself that what he really wants, what he desires is a _vampire_. He could almost gag at the idea at certain times, terror and nausea mixing, rising in his chest.

Other times… He’s here, in the dark night, alone with Bambam, because something within him compels him to be. And he can’t deny it, he does keep coming back.

Maybe that’s what explains the little smirk on Bambam’s face, just the smallest curve of his lips. He must know what Jaebeom is feeling, the conflict of fear and an almost yearning. 

Jaebeom must have been silent for too long, trailing his eyes up and down over Bambam. The vampire clears his throat, and he almost sounds amused, because of course he is. The little shit. It’s so irritating that he just _knows_. 

It’s all cockiness when Bambam saunters over, exaggerated and playful again. Maybe Jaebeom missed that though he wouldn’t readily admit it to himself, he missed the flirtiness, missed this side of Bambam. Bambam comes close, too close, but Jaebeom refuses to take a step back. With a teasing finger running down Jaebeom’s cheekbone, Bambam asks with a sweet lilt in his voice, “Are you going to apologize now?”

“For what?” Jaebeom coughs out, knocking Bambam’s hand away from his face and trying to take attention off his reddening cheeks.

“For treating me like garbage.” Bambam says, and he almost sounds hurt, Jaebeom realizes with a jolt. He doesn’t know if he should comment on the vulnerability in Bambam’s voice, or let it pass. Bambam doesn’t allow him time to process before sighing, sharp and dismissive, “I guess you are only human, anyway.”

Unfortunately, he knows just how to piss Jaebeom off. 

“This is why no one likes vampires.” Jaebeom huffs, “Just because you live forever doesn’t mean you’re better than us.”

Bambam tilts his head, and his hand comes back up, this time to caress Jaebeom’s neck. The touch makes Jaebeom shiver, Bambam’s cold palm raising goosebumps. His long fingers practically pet at the skin, stroking slowly. Jaebeom wonders if Bambam notices that his pulse is practically fluttering under his touch. His fingers slide down Jaebeom’s throat to his chest, heartbeat drumming under his palm. With a voice dripping saccharinely sweet like honey, Bambam says, “Maybe one day you’ll see how we are better.”

Jaebeom feels a bit like he’s under a spell, Bambam’s dark eyes piercing into his, pinning him down like a live butterfly trapped in a glass case. He almost wants to say something daring, something so unexpected that it’ll knock Bambam off rhythm, make him blink and trip over his words. Something like, _show me then_.

Before the words can slip past his lips, on the tip of his tongue as he finally leans into Bambam’s caress, Jinyoung is rounding the corner and shouting out to them.

Jaebeom comes back to himself quickly, lurching away from Bambam and knocking his hand from his neck harshly. He swivels on his heel back to Jinyoung, not turning to look back at Bambam. But he can’t miss the sigh echoing behind them as they leave.

Jaebeom realizes he didn’t apologize the next day, when the string of vampire bite victims continues. Jaebeom and Jinyoung are left to clean them up and send them home, in between the leads they get on new fledglings around town. Jaebeom does feel a little bad that they seem to be right back at square one.

Until one day in the early spring, roughly a month after their parting with Bambam, the trail of bite victims stops.

7 //

It’s been two days since Jaebeom and Jinyoung last found a casual vampire bite victim, left behind as vengeful little gifts by their bratty neighborhood vampire. Instead they receive a mission from the Council, by text, about a disturbance in a known vampire coven.

“Bet you wish this was Bambam now,” Jinyoung comments too lightly when they enter the house. They’d expected to have to tell partying vampires to quiet down, but instead... Blood is sprayed up the walls, staining the many hanging picture frames, and the bodies in the middle of the floor are torn apart past recognition. The room smells putrid, and this is another part of the job that Jaebeom hates, he can still barely keep from vomiting due to the stench. 

Disgust settling in at the scene in front of them, Jaebeom replies harshly, “At least we get to kill the bastard that did this.” It seems the whole clan has gone rabid, there must be at least five human bodies in the mess.

Before they can even investigate the crime scene, a scream echoes throughout the large, empty house. The source sounds nearby, loud and piercing until it is cut off in the middle. 

Jaebeom gestures with two fingers to Jinyoung, pointing toward the hallway leading further into the building. They creep slowly down the hall, floorboards creaking hauntingly under each step. 

The screaming has stopped, but the sound of people talking drifts around the corner ahead, “We don’t have time for this. If he won’t agree, we’ll make him.”

Muffled grunts follow, before the unbearable sound of bones cracking, followed by another wail interrupts them.

“We’ll just force it down your throat,” the same voice says, almost flippantly, but a malicious undertone poisons their words. The voice sends chills down Jaebeom’s spine. “But first, we’ll take your fangs.”

Jaebeom risks a glance around the corner of the open hall, somehow simultaneously relieved and panicked. Four vampires are standing with their backs turned to the hallway they’re hiding in, but that’s two too many vampires for them to take on by themselves. They have two other figures tied up and splayed across the ground, cloth bags over their heads. 

“What’s happening?” Jinyoung asks, so close his breath ghosts against Jaebeom’s neck and raises goosebumps. Jaebeom would scold him for even speaking since vampires have heightened senses, but they haven’t noticed the two humans in their home yet after all, apparently too preoccupied.

“Four vampires, two hostages.”

“Hostages?” Jinyoung sounds confused. Jaebeom doesn’t blame him, this is the strangest scene he’s ever seen on the job.

Jaebeom is about to call the mission to an end, retreat to contact the Council for backup, when the vampires rough up one of the hostages, pulling him up by an arm and ripping the hood off.

_Shit._

Jaebeom reacts too slowly, shocked for just a few seconds too long, but vampires move faster than he ever could. 

Before Jaebeom can finish hissing out to Jinyoung, “They have Bambam!”, a pained cry fills the room, anguish practically echoing off the walls. Jaebeom looks back in time to see the same vampire flicking Bambam’s fang away, watches in horror as it skitters across the floor. He feels like puking. _They ripped his tooth out—_

“They’re gonna kill him,” Jaebeom mumbles, head dizzy and foggy. He feels sick, nauseated and helpless as he watches from yards away. He’s not sure what’s happening in front of them, but the vampires could do anything at any time. They have to stop this before something happens to Bambam. Panic rises sharp in Jaebeom’s chest, aching and painful, making him say urgently, a harsh whisper, “Let’s go!”

“Wait, there’s four vampires, we’re going to die.” Jinyoung hesitates, grabbing the back of Jaebeom’s coat. “We need a plan.”

Bambam’s sobbing hiccups cover the sound of Jaebeom’s gun when he cocks it, “The plan is, open fire. Aim above the waist, don’t shoot Bam.”

Jaebeom counts down from three, as the leading vampire says, voice cruelly amused, “The other!”

In sync, Jaebeom and Jinyoung swing around the corner and let the silver bullets fly. The chest shots won’t kill the vampires alone, but it’s enough to debilitate the two they manage to shoot. 

“The blood!” One of the vampires that remains standing shouts, and the one that had been holding Bambam up drops him, to instead grab a wine bottle resting nearby. The vampire disappears through a window with the wine.

Still, that’s three vampires left, and only two of them, Jaebeom thinks grimly. They hadn’t even brought proper weaponry, and Jaebeom curses himself for sloppily leaving behind his machete, thinking they were going on a simple housecall.

Jaebeom snaps to the present when Bambam cries out, “Hyung!”, sensing the other vampire lunging at Jaebeom before he even realizes that the vampire is moving. Two shots embed in the vampire’s skull, and he’s down before there’s even a scratch on Jaebeom. Jaebeom gasps, frantically looks for Bambam to send him a nod of thanks for saving him from that close call. When he makes eye contact with Bambam, tied up and left on the floor, reality crashes onto his shoulders. _What the fuck just happened?_

Jaebeom lets out the breath he was holding when he sees that Jinyoung has taken care of the two other vampires, bullet in each chest, hearts bleeding onto the floor. The vampires would be out until someone came along to give them more blood, or the Council could come back and finish the job. Jaebeom’s tempted himself to return to the car and retrieve the machete after what he saw.

But Bambam is crying, and Jinyoung is pulling the bag off the other hostage’s head, revealing a similarly sobbing Yugyeom. For now, they just need to get out of the coven before any vampire backup arrives.

“Fuck, I thought we were dead!” Yugyeom cries as Jinyoung kneels to cut his ties.

Jaebeom moves to help Bambam, cutting the ropes tying his ankles with one of his smaller knives. 

Bambam’s tears have slowed down, but the look in his eye is still terrified. He looks smaller, vulnerable and Jaebeom can’t bring himself to face him. Every horrible thing he’s ever said to Bambam assaults his thoughts, the guilt and shame rising in his throat. He’s even more ashamed that it took the possibility of losing Bambam for him to realize that he needs to change, apologize for everything he’s done, even if it was out of a deep-seated, lingering fear. 

Jaebeom gently cuts the ropes off Bambam’s wrists, holding the delicate bone and stroking the red, chafed skin with his thumbs. “Are you okay?” Jaebeom asks softly, finally meeting Bambam’s eyes.

“How does it look?” Bambam asks weakly, parting his lips in a half-hearted smile. There’s a gap where his fanged incisor should have been. 

“You can pull it off, it’s cute,” Jaebeom mumbles. He’s more concerned that there’s no blood in Bambam’s mouth from how violently the vampire must have ripped his tooth out. “When did you last feed?”

“A few days ago, they kidnapped us yesterday.” Bambam answers. Jaebeom realizes that might be why Bambam is making eye contact more with Jaebeom’s neck.

“Let’s get out of here.” Jaebeom directs to Jinyoung as well. He offers Bambam a hand to stand up, though he’s a little taken aback when Bambam takes it as an opportunity to cling to him and shove his nose in Jaebeom’s neck as they leave the house. 

“I got your fang!” Yugyeom says brightly to Bambam as they gingerly step over the vampires left behind on the floor. 

“Can you fix it?” Jaebeom asks Bambam, eyeing the tooth that Yugyeom is waving as he walks over to them with Jinyoung’s help.. 

“A little blood goes a long way.” Yugyeom affirms, slipping the fang into Bambam’s windbreaker pocket, zipping it up after. “Trust me, he’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Gyeom.” Bambam sighs, and he sounds exhausted. Jaebeom wonders what exactly they’ve gone through. He lets Bambam hold onto him all the way out to the car, parked down a long driveway. Bambam’s nose is cold against the skin of Jaebeom’s neck, but his breath is warm when he exhales out on another sigh, this time almost longing, “You smell so good.”

Jaebeom blushes vividly, and refuses to look at Bambam, flopping him down onto the backseat of the car once Jinyoung’s opened the door for them. Jaebeom sputters a little, “You’re just hungry, we’ll get you to the center, okay?”

“Mm, sure, hyung.” Bambam seems a little woozy, maybe light-headed from thirst, when he winks and says almost coyly, “Maybe next time.”

Jaebeom closes the door on him, to drive them to the nearest donation center. The two vampires will need more blood to heal from the wounds they’ve had inflicted than Jinyoung can provide. And Jaebeom hadn’t exactly volunteered.

On the trip there, Jinyoung starts to gently interrogate the young vampires, turning around in his seat to talk to the vampires, “Why did they take you hostage?” 

Bambam grimly answers, “I think it had to do with that elder vampire.”

Jaebeom curses and hits the steering wheel, “This just keeps getting more complicated.”

“What did it want with you two?” Jinyoung asks.

“They wanted us to join its coven.” Yugyeom answers. 

Jinyoung’s jaw drops a little as he repeats, “Jaebeom, a whole coven.” 

“Yeah, they wanted us to drink blood tainted with the elder vampire’s toxin, to create a bond.” Bambam explains, though his face scrunches in disgust when he speaks. “Pretty fucked up. I wouldn’t do it, and they wanted to force me.”

“Shit,” Jaebeom groans, “He has a whole army fucking loyal to him becaues of a magical bond?”

“Not magical,” Bambam argues, “Just a temporary connection. Once the toxins are out of our system we’re not bound. You have to keep drinking the blood.”

“So kill the vampire and we kill the whole problem.” Jinyoung poses, and Bambam nods. 

“Killing an ancient vampire won’t be easy.” Bambam laments. 

Jinyoung grimaces and agrees, darkly, “We know.” The rest of the car ride to the donation center is quiet, nobody wanting to think about the future that awaits them.

When they’re finally back in the city, Yugyeom says in a soft voice, “We’ll help, right, Bam?”

Bambam blinks, and somehow catches Jaebeom’s gaze reflected in the rear-view mirror. He gulps, and answers as Jaebeom breaks their stare to focus on the road, “Right.”

Seems they’ll be working together again after all, they both think. 

Jaebeom supposes it might not be such a bad thing in the end. Once Bambam gets his fang back in place, so Jaebeom doesn’t have to restrain himself from laughing at the toothy smile the vampire sends him as he’s hopping out of the car once they’ve parked in front of the center. 

8 //

The summer rolls in, and heat waves soon follow. The newborn crisis has slowed during the heat, apparently even affecting the oldest vampires. They haven’t gotten any reports about the coven kidnapping more vampires either. Yugyeom and Bambam seemed to be their first attempt, and after the failure they’ve gone underground. Jaebeom himself is definitely left lethargic by the end of the day, heat and boredom mingling into drowsiness. The only calls they’ve responded to recently are the rogue vampire bite, when they’re called to walk someone home after they met up with a vampire at a club. Jaebeom’s just glad that he and Bambam have been getting along recently, and that the young vampire hasn’t been leaving presents in alleyways for them to clean up anymore.

Bambam has even started hanging out with Jaebeom and Jinyoung on their calls at night, usually sitting with them as they patrol. His company is loud and boisterous sometimes, but Jaebeom finds that he’s truly grown to enjoy and appreciate Bambam’s presence. At least, Jinyoung says he’s been laughing a lot more.

One morning, after a house call to a rogue coven on the outskirts of town, Bambam shows up by the time they’re cleaning up and have taken care of business, conveniently after all the fighting is done. Bambam had strolled up in a tank top and matching shorts because of the afternoon heat, demanding that they take him to get a new cell phone, since _they're affordable in this decade!_ and _How else will I tell you if another fledgling turns up, hyungs?_

Jaebeom had replied, “It’s past your curfew.”

“Oh,” Bambam had lamented, sidling up to Jaebeom and offering his wrists, bare, lean arms on display, “Arrest me, officer!”

Jaebeom sputtered, jaw unconsciously clenching. So he took Bambam to get a phone, unable to really deny him. The shops were only open in daylight hours after all. Jinyoung’s tittering as he followed behind them be damned.

Jaebeom doesn’t know how his job became about babysitting a vampire going through the technological evolution of 30 years in a few days.

Now, Bambam is always using the phone that Jaebeom begrudgingly helped him pick. He’s been using it as a way to catch up with the decades of time he’s missed, searching words and things that he doesn’t recognize. Jaebeom just doesn’t know where he got the cutesy little plastic charms that are hanging off of his phone, colorful case and all. 

Bambam is typing away on the phone, precariously held in one hand as he practices typing with only his thumb. Jaebeom knows he must be texting Yugyeom, the only contact besides Jaebeom and Jinyoung he has. In his other hand, Bambam holds a small pink electronic fan, princess motif in the center of the plastic blades. Bambam looks up from his phone, squinting out the window from the backseat of Jaebeom’s car, “Geez, I don’t remember Korean summers being this hot, I almost feel back home in Thailand.” 

“Climate change,” Jinyoung says loftily from the passenger seat, fanning himself with a piece of paper.

Bambam blinks in confusion, and when Jinyoung doesn’t eliberate, he pouts as he says to his phone, “Siri, what is climate change?” 

Jaebeom has definitely noticed that Bambam uses the internet to become up to date. He’s noticed that Bambam has taken a particular liking to social media and memes, thanks to Yugyeom’s influence.

Like on a different day of the summer, when it’s just Jaebeom and Bambam in a little cafe, Jinyoung waiting in the car as it idles on the street. Bambam ponders as they wait in line, “You know, Jaebeom hyung, I’ve only been dead for 50 years, as of this year. In the grand scheme of vampire lives, that’s pretty young.”

Jaebeom nods along. Bambam’s been contemplating his life a lot recently, since it’s his fiftieth anniversary of being Turned next month. 

“So,” Bambam continues as he slides his hand into the crook of Jaebeom’s arm, practically bats his eyes as he says, “I’m baby.”

“Okay, baby,” Jaebeom laughs, not getting the joke but understanding it’s one of the silly things Yugyeom bas been showing him.

What he doesn’t expect is for Bambam’s lips to curl like he was the cat that got the cream. Jaebeom tries not to be affected by Bambam briefly, shyly burying his playful smile into the top of Jaebeom’s shoulder, close and almost… intimate. 

Jaebeom gulps and tries to teases him back, “So you’re, what, 70 years old? Total, since you were turned at 20?”

“Mhm. A normal human age!” Bambam exclaims, “Just think of me as a really hot, in shape, senior citizen.”

“Wow,” Jaebeom laughs, “Now I’m even less scared of you. Baby.”

“Hey!” Bambam says, pouts his lower lip in indignation.

It’s cute, Bambam’s lips pink and plump, and Jaebeom tries not to stare. He then tries not to freak out about thinking a vampire is _cute_. Though, it’s hard not to notice, his cuffed jeans showing off skinny ankles, silky low-cut shirt framing his bare chest.

Jaebeom pointedly looks away from the exposed skin. He blames the warm evening air for the flush he can feel growing across his cheeks. 

It’s hard not to focus on Bambam’s hand in the crook of Jaebeom’s arm, still clinging to him. They’re only getting drinks because Jinyoung had said he needed caffeine to survive the rest of the night with _the two of you_, Jinyoung had put it, but Jaebeom wasn’t exactly sure what he meant. Getting along with Bambam is what Jinyoung wanted from Jaebeom anyway, right? And now here they are, arm in arm in a cutesy cafe that Jaebeom has just slowly begun to realize is decorated for couples.

Jaebeom shrugs off Bambam’s hand. They’re only here for some iced Americanos, they don’t need to call attention to themselves, especially when they’re on the job, Jaebeom reasons. They already look out of place as it is, Bambam’s draped silk shirt clashing with the rough edges of Jaebeom’s combat ready vest, utility pockets and all. 

The hurt look that crosses Bambam’s face as he draws his hand back to himself stings Jaebeom a little. But he tries not to notice that either. They’ll be heading back to the car now anyway, as the barista calls their order number. 

If Bambam cautiously sidles up to Jaebeom and stands too closely, bumping shoulders on the short walk back to Jinyoung waiting in the Excel, Jaebeom might be, secretly, a little pleased and relieved.

9 //

On the days they have off duty, few and far between as of recent, Jaebeom can’t stop having nightmares when he and Jinyoung shack up in their shitty little apartment. They sometimes get the morning to early afternoon off work, and they always take the empty time to catch up on much needed sleep. 

It’s not anything new, he’s had them on occasion. The trauma has followed him ever since he witnessed his parents torn apart, hidden inside a closet where his mother crowded him into, as he watched through a crack in the wood. The elder vampire that did it still haunts his dreams, face twisted and gnarled, terrifying rows of fanged teeth on display as it roared. The vampire had deemed Jaebeom’s father as an irritant, taking down its coven and interrupting its century long slumber. Jaebeom had night terrors each time he slept for years after the incident. They receded over the last decade, but lately they’re recurring an unusual amount. The nightmares only serve to remind Jaebeom that he doesn’t actually hate vampires, he’s _afraid_ of them. Terrified of the horror they’re capable of, how he feels inferior and helpless around them. It’s why he became a hunter after high school, not to follow in his father’s footsteps, but to feel powerful, safe, able to protect himself.

Jaebeom usually can’t remember the nightmares well after waking up, sweaty and shaking. But they seem eerily familiar, images of vampires, elder vampires. Jaebeom had easily pieced together the parallels between how his parents died and what he and Jinyoung have been assigned to recently. 

But that’s not even what bothers Jaebeom when he lies awake after one of the nightmares, sunlight shining from the edges of his blackout curtains. He isn’t scared of the vampire itself, he’s aware of how his father failed, and he has a support system to rely on, the whole Council. Jaebeom knew his father had gone rogue, even his partner had abandoned him. He was desperate at the end of his life, chasing the elder vampire in circles as it toyed with him. Jaebeom wouldn’t fail like that. He might be stubborn, but he isn’t insane enough to think that he could take down a vampire that ancient without help. 

What keeps Jaebeom up, staring at his ceiling fan that weakly fights the waning summer heat, are the newer images that appear in his nightmares. 

He’s dreamed of losing Jinyoung before, of course he has. Jinyoung is his partner, they trust each other with their lives, practically brothers at this point, even if they’ve had some bumps in their relationship getting here. 

Lately, the memory of Bambam, terrified, sobbing and screaming, fills his nightmares. He dreams of not having gotten there in time, of Bambam having been forced to drink the elder vampire’s blood, of Bambam attacking him instead. His night terrors only grow more demented, the elder’s fledglings decapitating Bambam, killing him once and for all. Ripping out both his fangs, draining him of blood until he withers away. 

Each day leaves Jaebeom with a new nightmare, more realistic and sickening than the last. He’s taken to looking at his chat with Bambam, cell phone blinding him as he grabs it as soon as he wakes from a terror and re-orients himself. It’s comforting to see the last text that Bambam has sent, always a good night text, or as Bambam said in their last conversation, a _good morning_ text. Bambam usually is the last to text, always having another thought to send after Jaebeom is already sleeping. 

**Blood Succer**  
[11:32 AM]  
have a good morning hyung :>   
[11:56 AM]  
Oh btw   
isn’t it funny that YOU sleep in the day   
but I’M the vampire???

Bambam has learned his texting habits from Yugyeom, and he still doesn’t know the appropriate emojis to use sometimes but it’s entertaining for Jaebeom at least. He catches himself quirking a smile at the messages. He’s not sure when Bambam snatched his phone to change his original contact information from “bloodsucker” to whatever “succ” means. He’s got his work cut out for him trying to keep up with all the new things Yugyeom teaches Bambam, and Bambam ultimately makes him learn. 

But now that he’s already woken from a nightmare today, Jaebeom knows he won’t be able to fall back asleep, too jittery and paranoid. He has only been down for a few hours, but he’d rather power through the day and try again tomorrow. No use in staring at the ceiling trying to decipher his night terrors.

**Jaebeom**  
[3:13 PM]  
You up now? Wanna grab brunch with me. Jinyoung is sleeping

**Blood Succer**  
[3:15 PM]  
u mean sit with u while u eat?  
[3:16 PM]   
only if i can have a bloody mary :)

**Jaebeom**  
[3:20 PM]   
Didn’t know you like tomato juice  
I was raised on a tomato farm, I’m not a fan anymore

**Blood Succer**  
[3:21 PM]  
-_-

Jaebeom sneaks out of the house, avoiding known creaky floorboards. Jinyoung is a light sleeper and Jaebeom isn’t taking the chance of waking him up and facing an interrogation.

Bambam is already sitting in a booth at the diner they usually meet up at. Jaebeom wouldn’t exactly call it their booth, but it’s not the first time they’ve been here, and it’s not likely to be the last. 

Bambam’s presence almost instantly brightens Jaebeom’s mood, his attention immediately drawn by the vampire. Jaebeom doesn’t think anyone else even notices him, the cafe note very busy in between meals, but it seems hard not to, when Bambam screams for attention with his extreme confidence in his outfits. 

“Is that a crop top?” Jaebeom asks as he slides into the opposite booth facing Bambam. 

“Yes, and it was popular in my time,” Bambam says with a little bite in his voice. “But I got glares when I was out last night.”

“It is kind of gay,” Jaebeom suggests, but Bambam seems to instantly bristle, flipping a large menu from the table, up in front of his face. 

“You humans have dumb gender restraints anyway.” Bambam mumbles behind the menu. Followed by, “But still, it’s Saint Laurent.”

Jaebeom chokes at the name drop. After recovering, Jaebeom catches the top of Bambam’s menu with his fingertips, nudging it down to face him, coughing, scrambling to save his ass after he’s clearly hurt Babmam’s feelings yet again, “By the way, I was joking about the gay thing. You look really good—I mean, um, it’s not like, bad, now, in 2019. Anyway, I’m gay, so I can make gay jokes, right? Like Yugyeom?”

Bambam blinks slowly, letting Jaebeom ramble and scaring him a little, before he grins, “Yeah, like when Yugyeom says no homo after kissing his boyfriend.”

“Yugyeom has a boyfriend?” Jaebeom focuses on, coughing in surprise. He honestly thought Yugyeom had a crush on Bambam, they’re always together. But he supposes he only ever sees them together because he only ever spends time with Bambam. Huh.

“He’s dating a human!” Bambam supplies happily, before a waitress comes over to take Jaebeom’s order of overly sugary pancakes. 

“Vampires date?” Jaebeom asks, once the overly friendly waitress has left.

Bambam rolls his eyes. “Sure, some of us are monogamous. We just don’t care as much usually. We get bored easily.” Bambam pauses. “Yugyeom must like him a lot, but he’s young. He’ll realize the sting of dating a human.”

Jaebeom hums, before blurting out perhaps the dumbest thought he’s ever had, “Would you date a human?” He sputters after, can’t believe how many times he’s already embarrassed himself tonight, but he continues, futilely, “I mean, do you get bored easily?”

Bambam’s rested his elbows on the table and his cheek in his palm, as he waits for Jaebeom to be done with his coughing fit, tripping messily over his words. It’s a little endearing. He’d gotten used to short, clipped bitter answers from the hunter. He can’t really pinpoint when they’ve become this friendly, but it’s a nice change, to be sitting here for no reason with Jaebeom.

“I feel like I haven’t done much. I don’t know,” Bambam sighs, almost wistful, “I’ve only been here and to the United States. I want to travel more! Meet more vampires, too.”

“Like…” Jaebeom hesitates, fingers idly tearing up a napkin laying on the table between them, “Starting your own coven?”

“I don’t know,” Bambam hums, “Wouldn’t that keep me in one place? At least Yugyeom is independent now. We’re kind of just friends, he comes and goes.”

“Where does he go? To his boyfriend’s?” Jaebeom asks.

Bambam nods in affirmative, “They were dating before Yugyeom was Turned, and Yugyeom just graduated. He was in a dorm before.”

Bambam looks a little sad, but the waitress arrives back, with Jaebeom’s strawberry pancakes, smiley and sweet toward him. Bambam sinks a little in his booth when she sends him a fake smile as she turns to leave. He can’t really blame her attempt at flirting with Jaebeom. Even though he just rolled out of bed at three in the afternoon, he looks handsome. He’s dressed down for once, less intimidating than the all black and leather ensembles that he and Jinyoung wear during work. Bambam thinks it’s impossible to not notice how cute Jaebeom really is underneath the hunter persona, fluffy sleep ruffled hair and scattered moles visible on his bare face.

Now, Jaebeom looks soft and approachable, especially when he places his elbows on the table to move closer, to ask, voice low and warm directed at Bambam, “All by yourself in that penthouse? Feeling lonely?”

“Why? You want to keep me company?” Bambam teases as he leans in closer to Jaebeom, and it’s the most outright he’s been. Jaebeom has come to realize that Bambam is serious when he says flirty things. It’s almost nice, how genuine he is, how honest he is with his emotions. Jaebeom sometimes wishes he could do the same as easily.

But Jaebeom still has trouble with honesty himself, as he stutters, “That’s probably not a good idea.”

Bambam’s face falls, the glint in his eye disappears, and Jaebeom immediately feels terrible for some reason. A lump in his throat grows as Bambam flops back onto the booth and crosses his arms.

“I mean,” Jaebeom rasps out, “Shouldn’t we go on a date first?”

Bambam’s eyes light up, and Jaebeom can’t bring himself to regret acting so impulsively in the moment. Though, he’s had a lot of time recently, awake staring at the ceiling to avoid another nightmare, to stew over his thoughts, ruminating in his feelings for once. Jaebeom doesn’t know if he can ever really atone for the things he’s said, the way he’s acted. But the only way for him to even begin to deserve Bambam’s forgiveness is by making up for everything he’s done. 

The faux begrudging _yes_ that Bambam answers with, as he tries to hide his wide smile behind the palm of his hand, tells Jaebeom that this is definitely the right place to start.

10 //

The summer heat finally fades in late September, the air chilling again. Jaebeom’s nightmares go with the heat, dissipating and being replaced by a comfortable cool. For Jaebeom, the comfort comes from Bambam. Spending actual time with him seems to reassure Jaebeom’s subconscious, because he begins to have less stressful dreams involving the vampire. Bambam helps them on calls, keeps them company on patrols, and, more often than not, Jaebeom’s free time is occupied by him. 

It started too gradually for Jinyoung to notice at the beginning, but Jaebeom has been frequently disappearing from their shared apartment. The change is only noticeable because they usually have a pattern set: eat, sleep, work, repeat. He’s had to text Jaebeom a number of times recently, to remind him about shifts that they have. It’s strange, but Jinyoung is glad to see that Jaebeom has something in his life beyond the Council. Wherever it is that he goes. Jinyoung accidentally got it out of him one day, after he caught him sneaking out of the house in the early morning, when they were supposed to both be catching up on sleep. Jaebeom had started acting shifty, avoiding Jinyoung’s gaze and mumbling a half-hearted reply. 

Joking, Jinyoung asked, “You’re not in trouble, are you?”

Jaebeom had apparently taken him seriously, he spun around from where he had been heading to the door, quiet mumble as he answered, “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, I’m usually just with Bambam.”

Jinyoung can’t quite cover his look of shock before Jaebeom sees it and responds with an eye roll. Jinyoung smirks, teasing, “You two have gotten close, huh?” 

Jaebeom’s face burns red as he says indignantly, “What’s that supposed to mean!”

“Whatever you think it does, hyung.” Jinyoung says, too pleased with himself. Jaebeom turns back to leave, but Jinyoung continues behind him, “Have fun with Bambam! Don’t forget patrol!”

Jaebeom very begrudgingly does not reply, because they both know that Jinyoung is right. Jaebeom’s going to visit Bambam at his penthouse, and he likely would’ve gotten distracted, forgetting their shift, without a reminder from Jinyoung. Instead, he slams the door on his way out of their flat. 

Bambam had been expecting him, but it looks like he’s made himself busy in the meantime. Boxes are scattered across the apartment, carefully filled with trinkets, books, and picture frames. Bambam is taking down a painting in the hall when Jaebeom comes up in the elevator. Jaebeom pauses to take in the scene after he leaves the elevator, doors sliding closed behind him. Bambam’s heading toward him after propping the painting on the floor, when Jaebeom asks with a grin, “Skipping town?”

Bambam scoffs out a laugh as he reaches Jaebeom, a step away when he corrects, “Redecorating.”

Jaebeom closes the distance between them, falling familiarly into each other. His hands find their place on the small of Bambam’s back, while Bambam curls his arms around Jaebeom’s shoulders. 

The soft cotton shirt Bambam is wearing, too large on his frame, Jaebeom recognizes as his. He’s left a few pieces of clothing here over the last few months of dating Bambam. Jaebeom hums, teases as he plucks at the hem of the shirt, hands sneaking under to palm at Bambam’s bare back, “Not living in the past anymore?”

“Maybe there are some contemporary things I like,” Bambam offers, with a dainty shrug, fingers drumming along Jaebeom’s shoulders.

Jaebeom’s hands feel feverish against the cool, naked skin. His palms leave blazing trails as they swipe up Bambam’s back, wrists taking the borrowed shirt with them. Bambam easily accommodates the movement, arms reaching up for Jaebeom to tug the shirt off and away, abandoned on the floor. Jaebeom’s hands grip onto Bambam’s waist, fingertips brushing against the length of a dark tattoo written down Bambam’s side. Every time Jaebeom gets Bambam shirtless, he’s left practically entranced, caught up in gazing at tan muscle, only interrupted by elegant black ink. Jaebeom’s given up trying to resist his desires by now, and Bambam doesn’t seem to mind indulging him, almost preening under his gaze. 

Bambam tips his head to the side, the patronizing quirk of an eyebrow challenging Jaebeom. 

Though nothing he does will really catch Bambam by surprise, practically always a step ahead with his better senses, Jaebeom still relishes in getting the upper hand. 

If he’s fast enough, rough enough, he can sometimes catch Bambam off guard. Plus, he’s noticed that a little man-handling makes Bambam shy, evidenced in how he turns his head away to hide his smile like clockwork. It took him a while, but Jaebeom eventually realized that all the times Bambam teased and taunted him was to draw a reaction out of him. He finally noticed the way Bambam would look at him, peering under long eyelashes and heavy eyelids. Bambam seems to like the rougher motion of his hands when he’s angry, likes being surprised when he doesn’t know what to expect after seeing the clench of Jaebeom’s jaw. Jaebeom doesn’t like to admit it to himself, but human lovers might be a little dull, if vampires really are always a step ahead. Jaebeom might have overcome his old fears, but new ones seem to be popping up every day. He’s slightly terrified of Bambam getting bored of him and tossing him aside for a newer, better model of human. He tries not to think about that though.

For now, a little roughness does the trick again tonight, the cockiness wiped off Bambam’s face when Jaebeom’s hands grip his hips tight, pushing him against the wall of the hallway. The resulting sound his back makes when he hits the wall is loud, but Bambam barely even notices the smooth surface. He’s more concentrated on the rough fabric of Jaebeom’s sweatshirt against his bare skin. 

Jaebeom’s wide chest covers his, pressing Bambam into the wall. Bambam wants to groan as Jaebeom’s hands catch his wrists to keep them restrained against the wall. Jaebeom’s grip is strong and tight around the bones of his wrists, though Bambam hides a smirk, they both know he could escape the hold easily. Bambam doesn’t want to bruise Jaebeom’s ego, doesn’t mind feeding it a little if this is how it makes Jaebeom act. Instead of giving in to the warmth of Jaebeom’s body caging him in, Bambam pouts a little as he says, voice sweet and playful, flirtatious as if they’ve never met, “Fancy seeing you here, hunter.”

Jaebeom plays along as he tucks his head into Bambam’s shoulder to murmur in his ear, “You never changed your passcode. I think you wanted me to come back.”

“Maybe I was scared after the fledglings and wanted you to stay and protect me,” Bambam purrs, melting in Jaebeom’s hold as his nose nudges down the line of his jaw. They’re comfortably pressed together against the wall, similar heights allowing them to align almost perfectly. Jaebeom leaves wet kisses against Bambam’s neck as he rolls their hips together, the zipper of Jaebeom’s pants against Bambam’s cotton covered erection making him hiss out. The metal is a little painful, but Bambam bucks up into it anyway, the friction against his hardening dick too gratifying to resist seeking.

Jaebeom snorts at Bambam, amused, “I think you had them under control.” Jaebeom ruts his hips, pressing Bambam harder into the wall. Bambam groans, frustrating layers of clothing preventing him from chasing any actual relief. Jaebeom finally releases Bambam’s wrists, to instead trail a hand down his chest, fingertips fluttering teasingly above his skin in a nonsensical path. When Bambam gives in, whines _please, hyung_ in impatience to urge Jaebeom on, Jaebeom pinches one of his hard nipples, nail digging in. The sharp pain makes Bambam suck in a breath, hands reaching to grip onto Jaebeom’s shoulders. Bambam’s sure that Jaebeom can feel the wet patch on the front of his sweatpants, precum staining the grey cotton. 

Jaebeom is still fully dressed, the fabric of his sweatshirt separating them. With his wrists freed, Bambam could slide his hands under Jaebeom’s shirt, cool fingers trailing over muscle, making Jaebeom jolt. Bambam takes advantage of Jaebeom’s pause, pulling his sweatshirt off over his head. Jaebeom’s bare chest is lean, faintly defined muscles only interrupted by scars, scattered across his skin. Bambam groans at the sight, wants to pull Jaebeom back against him, so they’re pressed skin to skin. A convincingly sad, low whine is enough for Jaebeom to come reeling back into Bambam. His firm thigh pushes between his legs, into Bambam’s crotch, grinding against his cock and drawing a surprised moan from Bambam. 

The warmth Jaebeom’s skin radiates, the racing heartbeat under his ribs, all work to make Bambam dizzy, intoxicated on Jaebeom. On his smell, sweat and cologne and the sweet scent of blood rushing under his skin. God, the smell—he couldn’t help but bury his face into the soft skin of Jaebeom’s neck, the pounding of his jugular vein practically deafening to Bambam. Bambam doesn’t want to tear himself away from the crook of Jaebeom’s neck. Wants to stay nuzzling there until Jaebeom lets him sink his teeth in, lets him give them both what they want—

Until Jaebeom jerks away, a loud disgruntled noise punched out of his chest.

Bambam admits that, maybe, licking Jaebeom’s neck over the beating vein was a little much. He really could have been subtler about it, eased Jaebeom into the idea of being bitten. But he wasn’t going to bite him right now, okay? Not without his permission. He’d just gotten too wrapped up in Jaebeom and the moment.

Bambam says as much to Jaebeom, tries to apologize, but Jaebeom has already devastatingly slipped his sweatshirt back on. Wherever the night was going to go before this, it certainly wasn’t now. Not with the practically wounded look Jaebeom sent Bambam’s way. 

Well, two can play at that game. Bambam pouts, large puppy eyes pleading as he says, defending himself, “I didn’t do anything, hyung.”

Jaebeom’s hand scratches at the side of his throat, where Bambam had just been preoccupied. Jaebeom huffs out, reluctant, “I know, I know.” But his hand remains on his neck, as if shielding himself from Bambam’s gaze. Or maybe his teeth.

“You just smell so good, hyung, I can’t help but imagine how you’d taste.” Bambam continues, but the embarrassed look on Jaebeom’s face tells him he’s only dug himself deeper.

The silence that follows is almost unbearable, but Bambam can’t bring himself to break it, too scared of shoving his foot further into his mouth. Jaebeom looks equally as uncomfortable, desperately attempting to avoid eye contact.

They’re saved by the ringing of Jaebeom’s cell phone, blaring alarm of Jinyoung’s ringtone going off from one of the pockets of Jaebeom’s utility pants. Bambam watches on miserably as Jaebeom struggles with finding which of the multiple oversized pockets he stuffed his phone into earlier in the night. Before he can answer the phone, Bambam implores, “I really think we should talk about this, Jaebeom hyung.”

Jaebeom grunts, and Bambam’s not sure if it’s in agreement or a rejection of his idea, but Jaebeom has picked up the call before Bambam can continue. Jaebeom can’t even greet Jinyoung, who’s already talking rapidly, tinny faint voice urgent through the speaker. They must be late for something, Bambam supposes.

Bambam could listen in more, it’s honestly harder to focus on not hearing their conversation, but he hates when he freaks Jaebeom out with his heightened senses. Jaebeom always pulls away from him, and their relationship has been a repeated set of one step forward, two steps back. Bambam’s hoping to break that cycle one day. 

The call only lasts for a minute or so, Jaebeom quickly hanging up on Jinyoung with a pinched look on his face. He finally meets Bambam’s eyes again, resigned, “Jinyoung says we were called in early. Sounds important.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” Bambam asks, earnestly. It’s not like they’ve never worked together before when they were fighting. 

But Jaebeom shakes his head before moving to press the button for the elevator, “Nah. We’re not looking for fledglings, we’ll be fine on our own.”

Bambam purses his lips, but relents, “Okay. But we really should talk about this later.”

“Yeah.” Jaebeom agrees, a tired sigh escaping. After a few moments of familiar silence, the elevator doors slide open. Jaebeom leaves the apartment with only an “I’ll see you around.”

No goodbye kiss, not even a backwards glance as the doors closed on him. Bambam has had it with this particularly frustratingly dense human. Groaning, Bambam shouts into the loneliness of his penthouse, “Screw you Im Jaebeom!” 

11 //

Jaebeom can’t help but to be frustrated with himself, with his inability to stop getting in his own head every time he thinks about being bitten by Bambam. He’s not even scared of Bambam, really, not even scared of what he’s truly capable of, the power he holds in his deceiving lithe build. Intimidated maybe, especially in moments when Bambam glares daggers at him when Jaebeom dares to spare him a sideways glance. 

But he’s not scared of what Bambam is, anymore. He may have been before, but he doesn’t have a reason to be scared of all vampires now. As loathe as he might have been to say it once upon a time, Jaebeom can now say with certainty that he trusts Bambam. He’s earned that much, for himself and other vampires. Yugyeom, as well. Jaebeom thinks knowing both of them has made him a better person, a better hunter.

What Jaebeom actually is avoiding regarding the bite, beyond maybe just the thought of fangs piercing into his flesh, is the intimacy involved. The vulnerability, being practically at Bambam’s mercy. Jaebeom has an unfair bias against the bite, but Bambam acting so flippant about it unnerves him. Jaebeom wouldn’t exactly consider it as something special, he doesn’t need rose petals or romance, but he wants to work up to it at least.

By now, months into their relationship, of course he knows that Bambam wants it, wants _him_. His blood. And Jaebeom can’t deny that he desires the bite just as much.

But they haven’t exactly talked about it yet. That’s half Jaebeom’s fault, but he’s just not sure how to approach Bambam to ask him to start with a bite on his wrist instead. 

Jaebeom’s mostly glad that he cuts himself off before saying that last part out loud to Jinyoung.

“Okay, maybe too much information. Sounds like you made a real mess, though.” Jinyoung says, amused, stuck in the passenger seat as Jaebeom rambles on about his relationship troubles. 

They’re on their way to the coordinates sent to them from the Council, called on a strange mission to the countryside. They’re not sure what to expect, the voicemail left by a senior hunter didn’t detail much, just that they’ve been getting a lot of reports from a small town outside of Seoul. 

“Oh wise Jinyoungie, why don’t you tell me how to fix it then?” Jaebeom snarks. 

“You’re thinking about the bite too much. You’re making a big deal out of it.” Jinyoung offers. “Stop being dramatic. It’s really not that bad.”

Jaebeom grumbles, focuses his attention back on driving down the dull strip of highway, the horizon never-ending.

Jinyoung continues, “Plus, Bambam is gentle.”

Jaebeom’s grip on the steering wheel tightens, leather squeaking under his fingers. Through gritted teeth, Jaebeom says, “Great. You know, that’s my boyfriend you’re talking about.”

“What? Jealous?” Jinyoung asks through the smug curl of his lips.

“Shut up, potato chip.” Jaebeom bites back. 

Jinyoung laughs before the navigator on the phone is speaking, volume low as Jinyoung was supposed to be monitoring the route. Jinyoung yelps, “Oh shit! Exit here.”

Jaebeom has to jump across several lanes of traffic because of Jinyoung getting them distracted. 

Any remaining conversation they wanted to have is cut short by their arrival to a town by the sea. It was just a few miles off the highway, but the buildings were sparse, a run-down gas station and the few occasional beige buildings. Acres of water flooded fields lined the one lane roads.

The area was surprisingly inactive for the time of day. It was still early evening, not even 6 PM yet. People should be wandering around, getting off work or going for dinner. Even in a small town like this, the random civilian would cross their path. Not even a soul was present in the streets. It sets warning bells off in Jaebeom’s head, and he glances over to Jinyoung to see the same tension written across his face. Something was definitely odd here. 

“When did headquarters start getting calls from this place?” Jaebeom asks, voice just above a whisper. They’re still in the car, he pulled into the empty gas station, but he feels the pressure of the ominous atmosphere. 

“A few days ago.”

“And they haven’t sent anyone out before today?” Jaebeom questions.

“Not enough people working at the moment. They got a bunch of calls from here today though, so they had to send someone. But it took us a while to get here.”

“Yeah. I’m starting to get the feeling that we might be a little too late.” Jaebeom says, eyes scanning down the town’s main street that they’re parked on. Eerily, still no movement interrupts the view.

Which is why they both startle when the gravel of the gas station lot is crunched under the tires of a car pulling into the gas till behind them. They both spin around in their seats to watch the owner of the Mercedes Benz swing the door open and step out. 

“Bambam?” Jaebeom and Jinyoung exclaim in practical unison. 

Bambam is indeed making his way over to their car, a friendly wave sent their way through the back window. He’s slipping into the back seat before they realize, the lock never actually working on the left side door. “Hey guys,” Bambam greets, voice unusually solemn. He must be feeling the peculiar atmosphere in the small town as well. 

“What are you doing here? How did you find us?” Jaebeom demands, too coldly, if the matching frowns that spread across Jinyoung and Bambam’s faces says anything. 

Bambam crosses his arms in irritation, almost comical in the puffy bomber jacket he’s wearing. He retorts, indignantly, “I followed you. We’re a team.”

Jaebeom gives in with a sigh, “Yeah, I know. We could probably use your help anyway.”

“Okay, but we still have to talk about—”

“I know.” Jaebeom interrupts, exasperated.

“You don’t have to snap at me.” Bambam grumbles, flopping against the cushion of the carseat. 

Jinyoung’s eyes slide between the two, feeling déjà vu to the days when Jaebeom and Bambam’s only interactions were fighting. He tries to steer the conversation away from their arguing. Someone has to try to salvage Jaebeom’s relationship, since he seems to keep fumbling. Jinyoung clears his throat, before asking Bambam, “Did you sense anything on your way in town?”

“No.” Bambam answers, certain. “It’s like no one is here.”

“Great.” Jaebeom declares. “A ghost town with dozens of vampire reports. This isn’t going to be good.”

“I’m calling for backup,” Jinyoung says as he pulls out his cellphone from his coat, already dialling a number. 

“It’ll take them hours to get here.” Jaebeom comments dully. The gulp he takes is loud in the quiet, dimming evening. “We have to see if anybody needs help.”

“Can it wait until the backup arrives?” Bambam asks, voice calm and rational, but his eyes flicker almost in a panic between the two hunters. He speaks quietly, directed at Jaebeom, whispering under Jinyoung’s professional reporting to the superior he’s speaking to on the line.

“They were already on their way. They’re an hour out.” Jinyoung answers as he hangs up the call.

Jaebeom delegates, “Then we should scout ahead and figure out what we can in the meantime.”

Bambam, trapped and ignored in the backseat, huffs angrily. He argues, “That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”

“There are more hunters on the way.” Jinyoung agrees with Jaebeom. “If there are people injured, we need to find them as soon as possible.”

“What about you two?” Bambam stresses, leaning over the center console between the front seats, to turn between the two hunters. 

“What do you mean, what about us? This is our job.” Jaebeom dismisses.

“The backup will need you.”

“Whoever is in this town needs us now.” 

Their voices raise in volume as they argue, already too loud in the small car. It’s a familiar type of discomfort, being stuck between them, Jinyoung reflects. He’s learned to lean back against his seat and meditate while they fight it out. His patience for being their mitigator has long run out.

“The elder vamp is here, and you know it. Stop ignoring facts, you’re going to get yourselves killed.” Bambam says, deadly, this time directed at the both of them. He’s addressed the elephant in the hypothetical room, the possibility that the town is eerily quiet because the ancient elder vampire has moved his coven here and already devoured the rest of the town’s inhabitants. There’s almost no other explanation. But Jaebeom and Jinyoung were willfully ignoring it, even though they both could feel the knowledge weighing on their shoulders, in the resigned looks they sent each other over Bambam’s head. Wasn’t this, too, being part of a hunter? The duty of dedicating their lives to the organization, to protecting the people from things that lurk in the dark. 

(Though, that view of the Council, of his… career? Jaebeom doesn’t even know what he’d define it as anymore—but his job has extended to protecting vampires, Bambam, Yugyeom, all the innocent civilians.)

As a hunter, their missions always had to come to an end at some point. Jaebeom had just hoped that theirs could be because they had finally called it quits one day because of Jaebeom’s recurring back pain. He hadn’t exactly bargained for all of this.

But still—“We know what we signed up for.” Jaebeom grunts, refusing to make eye contact with Bambam, instead staring ahead out of the windshield. “We have to do something.”

“You’re doing what your father did.”

Bambam’s words are harsh, cruel, cutting through the foreboding evening. 

Both hunters turn to Bambam in shock, Jaebeom with anger written across his features, and Jinyoung with his mouth dropped open. Jinyoung didn’t know they were that close, that Jaebeom told Bambam personal things he rarely reminisced on. At least, Jinyoung hadn’t found anything about Jaebeom out until around two years of being his partner, after being friends for all of their training years.

Jinyoung always thought that if Jaebeom ever dated, he’d have to find someone as bull-headed as him. Bambam seems to be just that, stubborn and blunt enough to dig his fingers into the bruises of Jaebeom’s past. He doesn’t look remotely scared of the repercussions, stares Jaebeom down as the hunter knots his jaw, grinds his teeth.

Jaebeom seems shocked into a furious stupor, jaw tight and eyebrows scrunched so close together they meet. 

Bambam’s face softens a little as he tries to reason, “You needed to hear that.”

Jaebeom exhales steadily, eyes closing as he breathes, before he says, voice purposefully flat, “Sure. I’ll think about it.” Then he’s swinging the car door open, finally fixed over the last month so that it doesn’t stick. Before slipping out of the driver’s seat, Jaebeom turns and says, “For now, people might need us. Let’s go, team.”

_Team?_ Jinyoung mouths at Bambam, who sighs in reply, before he too leaves the car.

Well, at least Jaebeom is trying, in his own strange way, Bambam supposes. Bambam’s not about to let the two hunters wander around the creepy desolate town without him. With a final heaving sigh, he makes his way out of the backseat. Another day of following Jaebeom’s impulses around. He’s usually right, is a good leader for their makeshift team of three, and that’s what makes Bambam so worried. One day he’ll be right about the wrong thing. Bambam just has to be nearby to catch him if something happens, because it seems like that day is coming sooner than he had assumed. 

So, he follows a step behind, in the precise track marks Jaebeom’s steel-toed boots make in the dust on the ground.

They’ve been given an address a block from the gas station. The ominous fog that curls into the town from the sea, along with the cool evening air, seems to creep its way into their lungs, stealing the breath from their chests. It comes out in white puffs, the chill night clinging. The air has soured, turned almost too frigid in the early autumn night, stinging as they take gasps to breathe. The fog is too low, clouds sudden and thick, sinisterly blocking vision around the tiny group huddled close together. The only source of light, beyond the faint crescent moon barely shining, a single light turned on in the window of a distant house. 

Jaebeom looks at the little footmap on the GPS pulled up on his phone, the little blue line that leads them straight to the house in front of them, down the street. They’ve paused in the middle of the road, staring down the yellow square of light beaming from the top floor of the house they’ve gotten dozens of calls from over the last 48 hours. 

Jaebeom’s gulp as he swallows, mouth dry and cottony, is shocking in the dead night. At least, to Bambam’s better sense of hearing, as he startles and uses it as an excuse to grab Jaebeom’s upper arm. Bambam draws him in, a strong grip on his arm, but Jaebeom would melt into him either way. Bambam says, voice low and serious, breath fanning against his ears, “It’s a trap.”

But Jaebeom shakes his head, and steps forward, away from Bambam, “It’s probably people that need our help.”

Bambam’s hand trails down Jaebeom’s arm as he moves, until they’re holding hands. Bambam tugs on the connection, and repeats, pointedly, “It’s a trap.”

(Jinyoung is not going to get involved. Especially not when Jaebeom harshly yanks his hand from Bambam’s.)

What Jaebeom says only seems to make Bambam angrier, “You never listen to me, you fight me at every turn. Are you ever going to let me lead this team, that you wanted us to be?”

“Maybe when you stop being so reckless!” Bambam protests. “We’re already too late, we don’t have to go.”

“This is my job.” Jaebeom insists again, unyielding.

The usual glimmer in Bambam’s eyes has died, a tired, blank look on the vampire’s face. His voice is thick with derision when he says, “What does that even mean? Your _job?_”

Jaebeom startles a little, at the question, and the animosity laced in Bambam’s words. He has no answer to the brusque question, no real direction anymore. But they’re here, in a ghost town that needs their help, and Jaebeom has never been one to quit, not when there were lives on the line. But once all this is over… 

“I’m going to resign, whether the Council likes it or not.” Jaebeom says with finality. Both Bambam and Jinyoung react in surprise, before Jaebeom tries to redirect their attention, “But for now, people need us. Bambam, can you scout ahead?”

Bambam agrees immediately, relieved that Jaebeom is coming to his senses and letting him help them. Even pleasantly stunned to hear that Jaebeom would actually consider retiring from the Hunter’s Council. Bambam finally smiles before he presses a soft kiss to Jaebeom’s cheek, murmuring _wait here_ before he slips off, disappearing ahead of them into the fog.

They wait in silence, surrounded by the creeping mist, until several minutes have passed. Jaebeom’s voice interrupting the night is like a resounding crack, even though he only barely whispers as he says, “Bambam is distracted by now. Take the front entrance, I’ll go back.”

“Jaebeom, what?” Jinyoung asks, shocked into dropping formalities. 

“He’s not going to let us go if we wait until he’s back.” Jaebeom argues, “He’s stubborn and paranoid. He’d probably literally hold us both back.”

“He’s going to be so angry at you,” Jinyoung insists. “You lied and tricked him. If we survive, you’re in the doghouse forever.”

“Good thing that’s only if we survive,” Jaebeom jokes grimly, voice devoid of any actual humor. They’ve started back on the straight path to the singular lit window in a house on the corner of the street. It’s large, but a little rundown looking, tin sides rusting. Bambam is nowhere in sight near the house, but Jaebeom had expected as much. He’s probably casing the whole block first, thorough, just to be safe.

Jaebeom and Jinyoung pause outside the front door of the house. Jinyoung still has to pick the lock, halfway to reaching for the tools in his coat, before Jaebeom is tugging him into a sudden embrace. Jaebeom’s arms are too tight around him, constricting and everything that terrifies Jinyoung. Jaebeom whispers into his ear as he rocks them, “I’m sorry we have to split up. Wait a minute for me to catch up in the back, let’s enter at the same time.”

“I know, hyung.”

“Stay safe, Jinyoungie.”

“I will, hyung.”

“We’re just looking for survivors, do a sweep and meet back at the car, okay?”

“Yeah, hyung. I got it.”

“I love you, Jinyoungie.”

Jinyoung hates how final it feels to murmur back into the shoulder his cheek is pressed hard into, not wanting to let go, “I love you too, hyung.”

He hates how when Jaebeom releases him, he won’t look him in the eye. He turns around to leave in a hurry, the line of his shoulders tensed high near his ears as he walks to what could easily be his death. 

Jaebeom leaves to find entry into the back of the house before Bambam catches them. After he picks the back lock, with only slightly more difficulty than he knows Jinyoung is capable of, Jaebeom takes a deep breath. Terrified to see what’s lurking behind the inconspicuous door of the suburban townhouse, Jaebeom hesitates. 

The split second of indecision is apparently enough to have changed whatever was going on behind the door. A scream of “_Help!_”, loud and blood-curdling pierces through the feeble wood barrier of the back door. 

No more time for subtlety Jaebeom decides, before he kicks open the door. 

The room that he’s barged into is dimly lit, large and too empty. It’s in stark contrast to the usual rogue coven, cleanly and bare of any incriminating evidence. No blood spatter, desecrated bodies or slain humans. The only point of interest, that draws Jaebeom’s eyes immediately as he steps into the room, is a figure curled up in a corner. Their feet are bound together by a thick rope, and the alarms in Jaebeom’s head ring as he’s reminded of the hostage situation they had found Bambam and Yugyeom in. This must definitely be where the elder has been dwelling. 

Only, there’s no sign of any other presence, the building seemingly abandoned along with the hostage. No other sounds split the silent night, meaning that Jinyoung hasn’t stumbled onto anything yet either. Frustration sets in as Jaebeom realizes that they’re too late, the coven has likely moved already, and they’re yet another step behind the elder vampire. 

The hostage, hidden by shadows in the corner of the room, remains eerily quiet, as if they’re gagged as well as tied and bound. 

“Hello?” Jaebeom calls to the person across the room, as he already ruined any attempt at a quiet entrance by knocking the door down. 

Not gagged, but they sound injured, voice wet and broken when the figure croaks out a weak, barely there “help.”

“Are you okay? What happened here?” Jaebeom begins to question, rapid-fire and urgent as he strides across the room to the victim’s side. 

Jaebeom didn’t expect his downfall to be because he was too trusting. But he does suppose he’s gotten softer since Bambam and Yugyeom have been around.

_Bambam._

All Jaebeom can think of is Bambam’s adamant, “_it’s a trap!_” ringing between his ears when the victim leans out of the shadows of their hidden corner, a sinister, monstrous smile across their beautifully crafted face. The elegant, high bridge nose and thin face are sickeningly familiar. Jaebeom never expected to come face to face with this vampire, ancient and powerful, missing for centuries and almost a myth. The only documentation they have on file are paintings from ages ago. Jaebeom realizes with dread that he never stood a chance. The vampire had no real need to lure him to this corner to pin him down, but Jaebeom walked right into it, played like a puppet. 

Time is suspended when Jaebeom finally looks down, vision darkening at the edges, nausea and horror weighing low in his chest. 

Pain finally bursts in his abdomen as reality comes crashing back down on him. Excruciating and burning through the rest of his body until he feels on fire, burning from the inside out as he registers that the ancient vampire has moved faster than he could attempt to comprehend, so fast it didn’t even hurt until he looked down to see the vampire’s arm buried in his stomach, piercing through him, skewering him, pinning him down.

“Didn’t even put up a fight.” A cruel voice, cold and detached from humanity taunts.

Jaebeom can’t reply, gurgles up blood when he opens his mouth to speak as the vampire twists his forearm embedded inside Jaebeom. 

“I’d turn you, force you to obey me, but I’d hate to waste my blood on you.” The vampire begins, thoughtful and casual, as if he’s contemplating where to go for dinner. “I’d rather watch as you bleed out, squirming on my floor as you die.”

When the vampire yanks his arm out from Jaebeom’s abdomen, lengthened talon-like fingers bloody and gruesome as they emerge, he crumples onto the floor in a heap. 

“Please.” Jaebeom begs, voice croaking through the blood in his throat. Raw panic bubbles in his chest, finally, finally bursting like a dam after avoiding thinking about the possibilities of how this mission would end. Now that he’s bleeding out, puddle forming under him on the floor, pain numbing the whole lower half of his body until he can’t feel anything but the cold concrete ground. He isn’t sure what he wants, but he doesn’t want to die here, he wants another chance—

The breathy, mocking tittering laugh that interrupts says, “You hunters always beg for it when death is front of you.”

A sound echoes from further within the large chalet, distant but enough to cause the vampire to heave a sigh, offhandedly says, “Maybe I’ll have your friend for dinner.” Before he’s practically floating out of the room, perfectly silent. 

Jaebeom tries to scream, to call after the vampire, to maybe alert Jinyoung, but any sound he can make is barely choked out. Blood in his throat like bile as he drowns in the overwhelming taste of copper. Jaebeom’s eyelids become too heavy to keep open, his will to stay awake fading as his vision darkens, until he closes his eyes and the world disappears around him.

.

.

.

.

Everything is fuzzy, too much stimulation from everywhere surrounding him, invading his senses. The first sound Jaebeom recognizes, once the cacophony of noises around him has died out into the soft hum of white noise, is a sigh of relief.

A familiar voice calls out above him, “It worked, he’s awake!” Before Jaebeom is tugged into an embrace, tight and overbearing, almost making him feel claustrophobic in their arms. 

Jaebeom can barely register what the voice is saying above him, distracted by his dry mouth and parched throat, a sweet, enticing scent overwhelming, causing him to swallow the saliva gathering in his mouth. Jaebeom blinks against the bright light when he squints his eyes open, unsure of where he is. All he can make out is the shape of a figure around him, neck almost too perfectly aligned at his eye level from where’s been tucked into someone’s shoulder. The set of clavicles visible under the neckline of a billowy shirt is tempting, dainty and perfect and Jaebeom wants to bury his face in that throat. The person under him, arms around him, is crying, shoulders shaking, face buried as wet tears drip down onto Jaebeom’s skin. 

But the only thing Jaebeom can focus on is the inviting length of neck he’s buried into, blood rushing under the skin suddenly the loudest sound in the room, buzzing in his ears. Jaebeom moves without control, instinctually, faster and clunkier than he expects, latches onto the neck that smells divine. It’s reflexive and Jaebeom can barely think over the smell, rich and full and delicious, only sheathed by soft, supple skin that the fangs that slink out of his mouth can easily pierce. Jaebeom takes gulping drinks from the neck, shoulders of his victim held tight between clawing fingers. 

Bambam, Jaebeom realizes when the relieved crying turns into a familiar, sweet, throaty giggle as his lips drag across and tickle the throat under his mouth. Jaebeom releases him, a confused look on his face as he pulls back, smacks his lips at the surprisingly bitter taste staining them. The blood pumping under his skin had smelled much more captivating than it actually tasted.

“Not exactly what you were expecting, right? It won’t sate you, it’s mixed with my toxins.” Bambam tries to explain over Jaebeom’s loud, frustrated groan. His bloodlust addled brain doesn’t seem to be understanding what Bambam is saying to him. His hands move to scrabble against Bambam’s chest, tearing at the fabric to get to his heart. “Okay okay, drinking your own blood wouldn’t even help in the first place. I think.”

Jaebeom whines in pain, starved, as Bambam grips his hands firmly in between his own.

“I’ve never done this from the start,” Bambam sounds worried before resolving himself, “but at least I’ve been a fledgling before. Let’s get you some blood.”

Maneuvering the occasional tipsy, human Jaebeom was annoying enough, even with Bambam’s inhuman strength. Just because he could theoretically drag Jaebeom around, didn’t mean in actuality that it wasn’t awkward to move Jaebeom’s wide, uncooperative form. Especially now that he’s a newborn fledgling with uncontrollable bloodlust fogging his mind. Drunk Jaebeom was no match to vampire Jaebeom, who hasn’t yet realized that his grip around Bambam’s shoulders is painful for the first time, too tight as he keeps Bambam close when he tries to leave. 

Bambam carefully untangles himself from Jaebeom’s embrace, lowering Jaebeom back onto the bed they’re lounging on. Jaebeom looks peaceful cushioned against white pillows with his eyes, red as fresh blood, closed. 

“You saved me once, hyung. Let me help you now.”

He doesn’t exactly have to go very far to fetch a blood bag from his refrigerator. Bambam just wishes he had a better first meal prepared for Jaebeom’s Turning, fledgling Jaebeom couldn’t deny a human donor, no matter how appalled once Jaebeom would’ve been. Bambam hopes they’ll have the time together to make up for it one day. 

12 //

It’s late in the night, practically morning with the sun barely under the horizon, when the elevator to Bambam’s penthouse creaks open. It startles him from where he’d been lounged on the living room couch. Although the apartment has slowly modernized in its decor, one long, white, out of style sofa remains. The disgruntled kitten that hops off Bambam’s lap when he jerks up is definitely new to the apartment.

“Hi,” Bambam greets as Jaebeom steps out of the elevator into the penthouse. But he’s ignored for the kitten, which Jaebeom has crouched onto the floor to coo over.

“Who’s this?” Jaebeom asks, voice cute and pouty as he carefully picks up the soft, friendly kitten.

“Cupcake. I got her today.” Bambam explains, before he offers, “I thought you might like her too. I remember you like cats.”

“I love her.” Jaebeom agrees happily, kitten cradled in the crook of his elbow. Jaebeom looks up as he strokes the kitten’s head with a single finger, to meet Bambam’s eyes as he says softly, hesitantly, “I love you too.”

Bambam’s posture relaxes from the uncomfortable, tense stance he’d been in, awkwardly hovering over Jaebeom. Bambam says, voice quiet, “I was starting to wonder if you would come back. It’s been a few days since you left.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you worry.” Jaebeom apologizes, a frown stretching on his lips. With a sigh, he stands up and offers the kitten back to Bambam. “I just had to figure some things out.”

Bambam looks amused now, as he cuddles Cupcake up to his face, fur soft against his skin, “Yeah? What were you thinking about?”

“That I want to be with you,” Jaebeom answers, warm eyes boring into Bambam’s. He tacks on in a watery voice, “and Cupcake.”

“You don’t have to stay, you can go anywhere.” Bambam offers, leaning down to free Cupcake from his clutches when she begins to squirm away. “You could even return to the Council, they’d probably still take you on as a hunter.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Jaebeom reiterates, stepping closer to Bambam now that there’s no kitten to distract them, “I want to be with you, and not out of some sense of obligation. We’re even, remember?” 

A smile tugs at the edges of Bambam’s lips as he says, “Guess we’ll just have to keep saving each other.”

Jaebeom’s palm curls around Bambam’s nape to pull him into his shoulder as he laughs out in reply, “Let’s start fresh. Try not to die this time.”

But this is what he’s begun to love about Bambam, how much he cares for other people. He cared for Jinyoung the first time he ever donated, he took Yugyeom under his wing and basically raised him, and now he’s saved Jaebeom’s life, changed it so much more for the better.

Bambam chuckles with him, but it sounds wet, tears gathering only for a second before they’re blinked away. Jaebeom makes a dejected noise in his throat as he tugs Bambam closer, hand moving to cup his cheek. Jaebeom looks a little lost as he murmurs, voice low and pleading, “Don’t cry.”

“Shut up, I’m not gonna,” Bambam says, but it’s undermined when he roughly wipes away the tears still clinging to his lashes. Before Jaebeom can laugh at him and argue, Bambam yanks him into a tight hug. Chin tucked over Jaebeom’s shoulder, Bambam whispers, vehemently, “I’m so glad you’re a vampire now.”

“Oh, yeah? Why?” Jaebeom asks, teases in a drawl, hands moving in comforting circles on Bambam’s back. Bambam sinks into the embrace, Jaebeom’s arms around him strangely toasty warm.

Bambam hums, cheek nuzzling into Jaebeom’s neck, “You won’t break as easily.” 

Jaebeom barks out a laugh, but moves Bambam further away to face him, hands on his upper arms. He looks confused when he asks, “What?”

“I was always worried when you two went on missions without me,” Bambam explains, voice quiet in the large, sparsely furnished apartment. “If you died and I couldn’t Turn you.”

Jaebeom’s heart practically squeezes, a pain in his chest when he thinks about all the grief he put Bambam through over the last year. All the heartache and anxiety he’d been inflicting onto Bambam because of his own inner turmoils. His problems of yesterday feel so fleeting now, now that he feels so much more in control, in sync with himself and no more fear looming over him, only the prospect of the future.

After a moment of silence, Bambam slyly changes the solemn mood, “You know, I could’ve snapped you in half at any time. You were always so vulnerable.”

Jaebeom splutters, indignant when he bursts out, “Vulnerable?”

“Not anymore,” Bambam placates in a cutesy voice, pinching and shaking Jaebeom’s cheek. He pauses, surprised, as he notices the skin redden under his fingers. Eyebrows scrunched, Bambam asks, “Did you feed again while you were out?” The blood under Jaebeom’s skin is fresh, red and flowing. More than just the multiple blood bags he’d downed ages ago. Bambam can practically smell the metallic scent, hidden under the crisp floral aroma of Jaebeom’s cologne.

Jaebeom confirms his guess with a shy nod. 

Bambam smiles as he offers, fingers stroking Jaebeom’s cheek, “Yeah, I bet you’re having fun. The bloodlust must still be affecting you, it’s barely been a couple days since.”

“Actually…,” Jaebeom falters, before he takes hold of Bambam’s hand. Jaebeom drags Bambam’s palm up the side of his neck as he finishes, “it’s for you.”

Bambam squints at him, skeptical, “huh?”

Jaebeom’s had time to think about it, to form a plan. His previous idea as a human, of working his way up to the supposed scary neck bite, seems so arbitrary now that he’s been Turned. All he can think about now is the regret he has for not letting Bambam bite him, drink from him back then.

“I never let you bite me when we were dating,” Jaebeom catches Bambam’s mouth opening, always a retort on his lips, but before he can interrupt Jaebeom adds, “We’re still dating. I meant when I was still human.”

Bambam flinches a little at the stark reminder that as of only a few nights ago Jaebeom had been human, heart beating on its own accord. And now here he was after disappearing for the last several days, after Bambam had drained him, Turned him into a fledgling vampire. Bambam can only jump to the conclusion that Jaebeom had to take time to reconcile his new life, to contemplate what Bambam had done to him. Bambam begins to apologize, “I’m sorry for—”

“Don’t say you’re sorry. Nothing’s your fault.” Jaebeom interrupts, voice final. “I’m sorry for ever acting like this was a curse.”

Bambam nods a little, accepts the apology. He’s just glad that Jaebeom isn’t regretting or resenting the split second choice Bambam had made to Turn him. He’d found Jaebeom in a pool of his own blood, near dead and barely hanging on to any last semblance of life. Bambam had only been able to react, to think of one solution. He hadn’t even asked Jinyoung, he couldn’t, he didn’t have time, he had to do _something_—

“I know, I know.” Jaebeom shushes him, and Bambam hadn’t even realized he’d been rambling, too focused on trying to keep in the tears that had sprung back into his eyes. Jaebeom pulls them both toward the couch, maneuvering Bambam onto his lap. Bambam squishes his wet face against Jaebeom’s neck, the skin faintly warm. Jaebeom continues, comforting, “You made a hard decision and I’m grateful that you did.”

“You died, and you’re comforting me?” Bambam demands, whining. His voice is lighter though, dramatic, as he squeezes around Jaebeom’s shoulders. Concerned for Jaebeom, Bambam asks, “What about you? Are you okay?”

“I wasn’t even conscious. I can’t really remember anything but waking up and you being there,” Jaebeom confesses, “Everything was black before I suddenly was aware of everything. Then I was just hungry—and after I just felt amazing. Like I could do anything. I still do.”

“Yeah, you get that high from blood, but I’m glad you’re taking it so well for now.” Bambam sighs, exhausted from all the crying, but relieved that Jaebeom seems to be successfully handling undead life as a newborn vampire. Bambam gives himself a mental pat on the back for taking care of the hunter so well after he was Turned. Jaebeom would’ve been a mess without him, Bambam snickers a little to himself at the thought.

“What’s so funny?” Jaebeom asks, voice petulant and more light-hearted than at any point tonight. It finally feels like a weight is lifted off their shoulders, that they can finally move forward with their relationship, without looking back this time. When Bambam giggles as Jaebeom tickles his fingertips up his side, over his ribs, Jaebeom is sure of their future.

“Just thinking about how you’re a newborn... Who’s the baby now, baby?” Bambam jokes, followed by little snorting laughs as he cracks himself up.

Jaebeom grunts, shaking his leg under where Bambam is perched, to jostle him in his seat. “Still your hyung, you’re still forever 20, but I’m forever 28.”

“That’s not fair! That’s not how it works,” Bambam argues, “and what about that new start?”

“You irreversibly changed my life,” Jaebum teases, “you can at least let me keep this part of it.”

“Oh my god,” Bambam bemoans, melodramatic, “I hate you. You’re going to hold this over me forever, huh?”

Bambam kisses Jaebeom to wipe the smug look off his face. It’s easy with the perch he has over Jaebeom to lean in, a hand cupping his jaw to angle their lips together. The hands still on Bambam’s ribs slide to grip his waist, firm and grounded, practically holding him back as Bambam tries to deepen the kiss. Jaebeom pulls away at every turn; parting his lips enough for Bambam to sneak his tongue into Jaebeom’s mouth, until Jaebeom is nipping at it with his teeth. Sliding his hands into Jaebeom’s hair, Bambam uses a handful to hold Jaebeom in place. He ignores the amused noise in Jaebeom’s throat at the cheap tactic. But it gets Jaebeom to remain still enough for Bambam to finally slide their tongues together, slow and lazy and satisfying now that Jaebeom has given in, relaxing into the kiss.

When they pull apart, Jaebeom tilts his head back against the couch they’re relaxed on. Bambam moved to straddle Jaebeom’s lap mid-kiss, thighs spread in soft cotton sweatpants. 

“Come on,” Jaebeom taunts, hooded eyes dark and inviting. His neck is long and stretched taut, adam’s apple bobbing when he speaks. Bambam can’t help but to reach out and trail a finger down an inviting length of muscle. Jaebeom continues with a teasing tilt of the head, “The donor tasted so good. Fresh. Said he ate organic, or something.”

Bambam hesitates, biting his bottom lip, eyes flickering between Jaebeom and somewhere off to the side. Before relenting, Bambam says, “Hold on, let me put Cupcake in my room. She doesn’t need to see this.” Cupcake blinks at them from where the tiny kitten has somehow managed to climb onto the couch and curl up on the cushion beside them. Bambam slips off Jaebeom’s lap, who groans impatiently in response. Bambam ignores him, mumbles to himself as he scoops up the kitten to take her to his room, “What would she think of us?”

But Bambam is back in a literal flash, and Jaebeom realizes he only recognizes the movement because of his new senses. He places something on the side table that Jaebeom doesn’t really take note of, too distracted with the pretty boy climbing back onto his lap.

And there’s no hesitation now, Bambam tucking his face against Jaebeom’s neck, inhaling the faint scent of the particular donor’s blood running in his veins. “You know,” Bambam murmurs as his sharp fangs, extended at the copper scent of blood, scrape teasingly down Jaebeom’s skin. “I had to bite you to turn you.”

Jaebeom hums, questioning Bambam’s overly casual tone. It’s a little unnerving how Bambam is making him wait, anticipation growing as his lips pause over the junction of Jaebeom’s neck and shoulder. 

“You’d already lost a lot of blood, but I still had to drain you to Turn you.” Bambam explains, voice just above a whisper in the room.

Jaebeom’s hands land on Bambam’s hips, soothing as his thumbs rub circles over the bone. 

“I had to drain you,” Bambam repeats, but his voice has become breathy as he practically reminisces, “You tasted so sweet. God, you were dying, but it was everything I’d been craving since we met. I haven’t even had bloodlust since, and I didn’t even drink that much.”

The smell of blood in Jaebeom’s veins now is new, different from when Bambam had Turned him. The intoxicating human blood coursing through Jaebeom’s veins mixes with the familiar smell of Jaebeom. Somehow, the strange scent is heady in its own way, has Bambam practically drooling. He hasn’t reached bloodlust levels of hunger since draining Jaebeom, but the mingling smell of human blood in Jaebeom awakens something primal within him. He almost can’t control himself, body reacting as his teeth contort in his mouth, lengthening and growing almost menacing. 

Before he was Turned, Jaebeom might have been intimidated by the sharp, grotesque, inhuman row of teeth in Bambam’s mouth, the red gleam in his eyes flickering in and out. But now, now it’s almost comforting. To know that they’re the same. That what Jaebeom has become, what Bambam has turned him into, a _vampire_, is what has finally brought them together here, forever even.

And forever seems less scary from what he might have believed once upon a time. Now, Jaebeom knows when he closes his eyes as Bambam leans in for a final time, that there’s nothing left to be afraid of anymore.

Bambam’s largest fangs pierce his skin first, before the secondary teeth follow, slicing and cutting through Jaebeom’s skin almost violently. Jaebeom gasps at the pain that blossoms in his neck, before the numbing, fuzzy feeling follows almost instantaneously. Jaebeom can practically feel the blood rushing through his veins as Bambam drinks, and takes and takes. The sensation is strange, burning, tingling pain running down his body like a high voltage electric shock. Jaebeom’s toes curl in his boots, and he can vaguely make out that the heavy panting, whining sound filling the room is _him_. He hadn’t expected such pain, but it mixes pleasantly with the loose, floating high that makes him dizzy as it feels like Bambam is draining him for a second time. Though, since he wouldn’t actually die from it, Jaebeom is tempted to allow Bambam to take everything from him, to give him anything he wants.

Jaebeom’s head falls to the back of the couch, too heavy on his shoulders as he feels hazy and overwhelmed. The donor’s blood running through him simmers, he can practically feel it dragging out of his veins as Bambam continues to drink. The mixture of pleasure and pain rises arousal like an itch under his skin, making him arch up into Bambam sitting over him in desperation for some sort of relief. His hips buck up strong enough to have thrown Bambam off, if he hadn’t been clinging to Jaebeom’s shoulders, fingernails cutting into skin.

Bambam finally pulls away from his neck after what feels like ages, but what couldn’t have been longer than a few minutes. His mouth is stained red with blood, teeth and fangs pulled into a sated smirk as he quips, “Could’ve tasted better.” But his cheeks are flushed with new blood, and the line of his dick, hard in his sweats, is more than obvious when he leans back on his thighs.

Bambam leans in to lick at the open wound on the side of Jaebeom’s neck, skin and muscle torn and disfigured. He’s already healing from the more brutal bite, bleeding stopped and skin reforming. Bambam cleans up the remaining blood, fangs finally retracted as he explains, “It was sharper, kind of tangy with your toxins.”

“Yet you drank plenty.” Jaebeom observes, his hands falling to Bambam’s thighs spread over his lap.

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing.” Bambam practically purrs, careful hands sliding to the nape of Jaebeom’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Fresh blood wettens the kiss as their lips meet, messy and heated. Jaebeom licks into Bambam’s mouth, and he recognizes the bitterness that Bambam had mentioned. The blood tastes off, different from when he’d bitten the donor at the center, when the blood had been sweet and fresh, straight from a human source. 

Jaebeom doesn’t mind the change in flavor of the coppery blood, is too distracted with the tongue that curls into his mouth for only a second. Jaebeom chases after Bambam when he pulls away, hands at his waist again, this time tugging, desperate to keep him close. Bambam laughs out a short squeak at Jaebeom’s whine of frustration, but he stays hovered on his knees over Jaebeom. He’s too far away, but the gleam in his eye betrays that it’s payback for Jaebeom’s earlier games. Jaebeom’s hands slide under Bambam’s shirt, fingers spread over his ribs. His fingernails dig, dipped in between the bone, a pinch of pain in Bambam’s side that makes him gasp and grip Jaebeom’s shoulders. It brings Bambam closer as he shifts, but only by a margin of space. Jaebeom wants him closer, wants the cold bite of Bambam’s skin pressed against his, still warm from the full meal he had earlier. Jaebeom wants to wrap himself around him, tangle themselves together and get lost in one another. It’s a deep need in his gut, primal and almost instinctual. He wants to fuck Bambam, to wreck him, consume him, worship him, give himself over to the vampire. Jaebeom’s never desired anyone this much. 

“I want you so bad.” He groans, eyes squeezing closed as if it’s physically painful to restrain himself.

Bambam’s hand, softly petting the hair at the nape of Jaebeom’s neck, and his low chuckle, bring Jaebeom back to himself as he blinks up at Bambam. Bambam says, voice soothing, “It’s the bond, we drank each other’s blood.”

“Yeah?” Jaebeom huffs out, tone lazy and affectionate. At the moment, he couldn’t care less what it is that’s causing him to feel this intensely. All he knows is that Bambam looks amazing, stunning over him, and Jaebeom would give him the world if he could. He’s sharp and intimidating, high cheekbones and confident aura almost untouchable. He’s soft and sated, hazy eyes back to his warm brown, cheeks just visibly flushed from the blood they shared. Hair messy, lips stained deep red, and shirt left askew by Jaebeom’s hands. Bambam looks debauched already, and Jaebeom feels the same. 

It feels like a current sparks between them when Bambam finally, _finally_ leans back into Jaebeom, lips just a breath away from meeting his again. But Bambam never seems to stop teasing, instead of closing the space between them, he murmurs, a pleasant buzz, “Yeah, I can feel it too.”

“Then do something about it.” Jaebeom nearly growls, noise low in his throat, as he jerks his hips up into Bambam’s ass.

“What’s the rush, fledgling?” Bambam mocks, but he can’t seem to resist the pull either, the urge to meld into each other and never be separated again. He grinds his hips down, and they both groan at the long awaited contact that feels like a shock. But it’s too rough and muted, denim and cotton frustrating enough for Jaebeom to begin tugging the clothes away. The shirt Bambam was lounging in is the first piece to get pulled off, long gone when it gets tossed behind the sofa.

Bambam looks like a vision hovering over Jaebeom, tan skin glowing in the faint light of sunrise that sneaks over the horizon. The lean muscles of his stomach jump when Jaebeom traces faint, almost reverent, fingers over them. He could almost stay like this forever, simply admiring Bambam under the rising sun, memorizing his image, if he didn’t still feel that base tug in his stomach, throat, chest, a deep all-consuming _craving_. It’s comparable to the bloodlust he felt when he’d woken after he was Turned, the need and desire. 

Jaebeom’s hands have crept their way to the waistband of Bambam’s sweats, before they’re snatched away into a tight grip as Bambam says, too sweetly for the inhuman amount of pressure he has on Jaebeom’s wrists, “Aren’t you impatient? We have forever now.”

Bambam might be strong, but he was right that they’re more equally matched now. Jaebeom easily yanks his hands back, to instead let them rest on the back of Bambam’s thighs. His fingers dig into the flesh, drawing Bambam closer again in their little game of push and pull. Jaebeom fires back, “Aren’t _you_ impatient? You said you wanted this since we met.”

“I said I wanted to drink your blood.” Bambam corrects, but his voice is thready, argument tapering off and losing heat as Jaebeom’s persistent hands toy with his sweats again. Fingers dip past the waistband this time, dragging the pants down inch by agonizing inch. Jaebeom quickly realizes that Bambam has forgone underwear when tantalizing skin is slowly revealed. 

“I want everything.” Jaebeom sighs out as he eyes the unmarked skin, more and more available as Bambam kicks off the sweats. Bambam is so close, but Jaebeom still feels like he’s yearning for him, unable to truly attain him. He looks like a statue, too perfect, nude and smooth, chiseled features and curls of silky hair. When Jaebeom reaches out to touch him after the sweats are removed, he feels as cold as marble. But the skin of his thigh is soft and satin, dents under his grip when Jaebeom takes hold of the backs of his legs again. Bambam’s finally acquiesced, melted under his touch as his arms move to wrap around Jaebeom’s shoulders. 

Jaebeom feels incredible, desired and powerful under Bambam’s heavy-lidded gaze. He feels like he can do anything, everything. Part of him, the naive, stupid human part thought the bite would change him fundamentally, turn him into something else, that he wouldn’t be himself anymore. But in death, he feels more alive than he ever had. He feels the same as ever, only better, elevated. He feels everything more, more emotions, more senses, so much so that it’s almost staggering. He’d gotten a little lost trying to adapt to his new perspective on life in the last few days since Bambam had Turned him. But he made his way back to Bambam, selfishly for once—for himself. His human worries seem so trivial now, guns and broken bones and death something far away. He’s stronger, better, more himself than he’s ever been. And he owes it all to Bambam. Who’d never given up on him, even as a human. He owes this change, this new life to Bambam. 

Bambam, who seems to have finally submits to the magnetism between them, as he reaches for the hem of Jaebeom’s t-shirt. It’s gone in an instant, pulled over his head and thrown over the back of the couch with Bambam’s.

“We’re going to stain your sofa.” Jaebeom mumbles half-heartedly, distracted as he watches Bambam’s fingers carefully pick away at his belt to unbuckle it.

“It’s from the ‘80s.” Bambam dismisses, a triumphant noise following when he slides the belt out of Jaebeom’s jean loops. He immediately sets to the front of Jaebeom’s jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping.

“Yeah, it’s almost vintage now.” Jaebeom argues, making Bambam laugh as he’s pulling layers of fabric down Jaebeom’s thighs. Jaebeom kicks his boots off and lifts his hips at Bambam’s prompting but continues, ignoring Bambam’s whining frustration, “You really should take care of it.”

Bambam huffs, the impatient one now, his arms looping around Jaebeom’s shoulders when he crawls back up, satisfyingly skin to skin. Bambam presses down further, grinding down onto Jaebeom, knees sinking into the plush cushion. Bambam’s lips brush Jaebeom’s ear, voice flirtatious and low, “You should take care of _me_.”

Jaebeom groans at Bambam’s words. His hands find Bambam’s sides, fingers caressing his ribs, over the familiar K I N G tattoo. Jaebeom drags his fingers, nails scraping, from Bambam’s rib tattoo to a hard nipple. Bambam hisses when Jaebeom pinches it, jerking down in his lap to grind their hard cocks together. The slide is already smooth, precum leaking between them to make the friction pleasant, electrifying with every movement of their hips.

Jaebeom surges up to where Bambam is teasingly far away, closing the space between their chests. Their lips are already parted, kiss quickly turning into tongue and teeth. Heat simmers in Jaebeom’s chest, grows into a bonfire when he pulls a whine out of Bambam with his tongue. The kiss is slow and long, neither needing to part to take a breath. But Bambam’s whining grows, restless as Jaebeom focuses his attention on chasing Bambam’s tongue every time he pulls away to try to speak. His hands, warm palms and cool rings against his skin, cup Bambam’s cheeks to keep him close. An impatient groan tumbles from Bambam’s throat when Jaebeom nips his bottom lip, laving over it with his tongue enough times to have Bambam’s fingers tangling in Jaebeom’s hair to tug him away.

“Jaebeom-ah,” Bambam whines, sweet but mischievous, “You’re taking too long.”

Before Jaebeom can argue, Bambam is leaning over him to the table next to the arm of the couch. When he settles back, he waves a little bottle of lube in front of Jaebeom. Popping the cap, Bambam asks, a quirked eyebrow, “Are you going to help or just sit there and watch?”

Jaebeom may have gone a little speechless, but he’s already taking off his rings at Bambam’s prompt. 

Bambam all but purrs in satisfaction when Jaebeom takes the bottle from him to slick up his fingers. Bambam props himself up higher on his knees, balancing himself with hands on Jaebeom’s shoulders. Jaebeom reaches behind Bambam to palm an ass cheek with his clean hand. Bambam sighs at the rough grip, pushing back into the touch. One hand gripping his soft flesh, the other finally follows, fingers teasing around his rim. A single finger pushes in smooth, slow as Bambam’s eyes scrunch closed and his nails dig into Jaebeom’s shoulders. 

“Fuck,” Jaebeom rasps as he pulls the finger back out halfway, to stroke back in at a faster pace. “You’re so tight.”

“It has been a few decades.” Bambam jokes, before urging Jaebeom to crook another finger in alongside. He’s too impatient, the burn of the stretch not painful enough to deter him.

“You haven’t slept with anyone since?” Jaebeom asks, pace faltering as he gets distracted. Bambam groans, frustrated as Jaebeom focuses on the conversation, rather than on fingering him open.

“I haven’t wanted anyone else since I woke up and smelled you in my apartment.” Bambam admits, panting between heavy breaths. Fucking himself back down on the fingers still inside of him Bambam continues, “Use a third.”

Jaebeom doesn’t have time to take in and think about what Bambam just confessed, but he still feels a happiness grow in his chest like a blossoming flower. He curls a third finger in on the next stroke, thick fingers stretching with an extra burn that makes Bambam hiss. After a moment of searching, the wrinkle in between Bambam’s eyebrows relaxes when Jaebeom’s fingers hit his prostate. Bambam gasps and falls forward onto Jaebeom’s chest, face buried back into the familiar curve of his neck. There’s less human blood in his veins, the inherent smell of Jaebeom stronger now, not as hidden by the sweet, cloying scent. 

Bambam’s nails dig into the skin of Jaebeom’s wide shoulders, dragging reddening marks across his shoulder blades. The bruises heal gradually under Bambam’s gaze. The small reminder that Jaebeom is now a vampire as well is comforting, and Bambam lets his fingernails cut in deeper as he prompts Jaebeom to move faster. 

Instead, Jaebeom removes his fingers entirely, their absence making Bambam groan, urging Jaebeom to _hurry up._

But Jaebeom’s hands place themselves back under Bambam’s thighs, far from where he wants them. Jaebeom practically tuts, a click of his tongue and humor in his voice as he cheekily repeats Bambam’s earlier sentiment, “What’s the rush?”

“I’ve wanted you since you threatened to shoot me in this living room.” Bambam states, words slurred and quick as he tries to get his point across. Jaebeom notices that the sun has finally begun to peak over the horizon. The room has lit up in shades of white and yellow patterns, plenty of sunlight pouring through the large penthouse floor-to-ceiling window. The light shines in from behind Bambam, illuminating his head like a halo, hair wild and tousled. The sun highlights his tan skin when he leans back into Jaebeom’s hands, steadily holding onto his thighs. 

Distracted by the image of Bambam warm and beautiful under the sunlight, Jaebeom airily replies, “Kinky.”

Bambam lets out a soft trilling laugh, “It’s not like you could’ve killed me.”

“I resent that.” Jaebeom mutters, making Bambam fall into further giggles. But he’s not laughing when Jaebeom’s grip on his thighs tighten, fingertips pressing into soft skin. Bambam’s pleased hum encourages Jaebeom. Moving faster than he ever could before, Jaebeom’s up from the couch, Bambam’s long legs wrapped around his waist. Jaebeom asks, “What about now?”

It’s sudden enough to pull a noise of surprise from Bambam, but he’s quick to feign indifference again, “I think you could’ve done that while human. I don’t weigh much.”

Jaebeom sighs, faux exasperated, as he carries Bambam over to the glass wall lining the living room. It must be cold from the early morning, but Bambam doesn’t even notice when Jaebeom presses him against the window. They’re pushed together so closely their cocks rut together, slick with precum. Bambam whines when Jaebeom squeezes his thighs tight as his hips rock slowly up against him. The teasing rhythm is set by Jaebeom, Bambam pressed too tightly against the glass to cant his hips any faster. The annoying smirk on Jaebeom’s face grows as he barely grinds their dicks together, too slow for how hard and desperate Bambam has already become. 

Suddenly, Jaebeom releases one of Bambam’s thighs, hand moving to cup his chin and bring their lips together briefly. Bambam’s leg, no longer held up, slides down Jaebeom’s hip until he’s on his tiptoes, chasing the kiss that Jaebeom teasingly denies him. It’s hot and feverish between them, chests sliding together as Jaebeom leans forward, only to nip at Bambam’s bottom lip and pull away again. Frustrated after several teasing bites, Bambam grabs Jaebeom’s cheeks in a firm hold, jerking him into the kiss, crashing their lips together hard. Jaebeom’s laugh, a smile across his face, interrupts the kiss even when Bambam gripes out a groan of “come _on_.”

Jaebeom uses the hand still squeezing Bambam’s other thigh to flip him around. He surprises Bambam again, making him yelp and catch himself clumsily, palms splayed against the glass wall. Jaebeom presses his chest to Bambam’s naked back, which bares another tattoo he hadn’t noticed yet. The sight almost makes him groan aloud as he buries his face in Bambam’s neck, hands sliding around to his chest. He pulls them together, hot, sweat slick skin pressed snug. Bambam’s keen matches Jaebeom’s low moan when their hips slot together. Jaebeom pulls away far enough to see his dick cradled between Bambam’s ass cheeks, and he can’t tear his eyes away. His cock is thick and red, obscenely rutting between cute, toned ass cheeks. 

Dragging his eyes away from Bambam’s ass, Jaebeom crowds against his cool back, hands propped next to Bambam’s on the glass. His wider frame covers Bambam in warmth, and Bambam hums as he presses himself back into Jaebeom’s broad chest. It’s comforting, and Bambam hasn’t felt like this with anyone in decades. 

When Jaebeom pushes him against the glass, cages him, Bambam jolts with a realization, a memory knocked from a deep recess. He hasn’t felt like this since he was with the man he once thought he loved. The man who had made him feel safe, but the last he even remembers of him was being crowded against in a dark alleyway, before pain was bursting from his neck—

Bambam hasn’t thought about that man in ages, and the violent memory comes uninvited. It makes him shudder and screw his eyes shut to fight off the recollection. They’re both vampires, and he trusts Jaebeom, things are different now, he has no reason to be feeling the chill that runs through him. But maybe… Bambam is the guilty one this time around? He had Turned Jaebeom, without his prior consent. 

“Hyung?”

Bambam’s call for him is so quiet Jaebeom wouldn’t have heard it if he hadn’t been resting his head on Bambam’s shoulder. Concentrated on him already, giving him all of his attention anyway. He notices the crack in Bambam’s voice, the sad sighing word. Jaebeom removes his hands where he’s propped onto the glass, instead wrapping them around Bambam in a comforting embrace, as he coos, mellow and sweet, “You okay?”

Jaebeom doesn’t think he could ignore his raging hard-on as easily if he were still human. Kind of convenient since Bambam seems to be ignoring his too, Jaebeom notices when he looks down. It’s a little uncomfortable, but the pain just simmers low and pleasant. 

“Will you regret that I Turned you? Will you resent me one day?”

Jaebeom furrows his eyebrows, worried about the melancholic tone in Bambam’s voice. Jaebeom demands, upset that Bambam is plagued with such thoughts, “Why would you say that?” 

A hand snakes its way up to Bambam’s throat, to turn his head toward Jaebeom’s rested over his shoulder. Jaebeom plants a sweet short kiss on his lips. Bambam parts his mouth greedily when Jaebeom pulls away, and Jaebeom smiles at his barely flushed, round cheeks and plump, red stained lips. He looks cute, a debauched wreck and Jaebeom wants to devour him. His grip on Bambam’s throat tightens as his hand moves to span the base of his neck. 

Bambam’s breath hitches, but Jaebeom’s hand isn’t actually tight enough to prevent him for answering, voice small, subdued, “The man who attacked and Turned me was my lover. I couldn’t ever forgive him.”

“You didn’t attack me.” Jaebeom answers decisively, before Bambam has even finished his sentence. But Bambam’s eyebrows knit together and he still looks ready to argue, _always_ ready to argue against Jaebeom. Well, if words won’t convince him…

Jaebeom trails his left hand from Bambam’s throat, down his chest, past his pubic hair to stroke his waning erection back to life. Bambam gasps at the dry contact of Jaebeom’s hand wrapping around him. Jaebeom’s hand only lingers long enough to quickly jerk Bambam back to hard and dripping. Jaebeom removes his hand, but his fingers are covered in precum, messy and wet. Jaebeom groans, guttural as if it was punched out of his chest when he brings two fingers up to Bambam’s lips, and says, rumbling deep and close, “You’re so filthy, Bam. So pretty and needy for me. You want it so bad, huh? Want my cock, baby?”

Bambam tries to nod as he sucks on the fingers Jaebeom thrusts into his mouth, lips glossy and red as they hit Jaebeom’s last knuckle. Bambam grabs Jaebeom’s wrist, to push his hand in and out faster, licking around his fingers. Jaebeom watches in awe, jaw slack and mouth wide. He recovers quickly to pull his hand away, out of Bambam’s grasp. 

Jaebeom kisses up the side of Bambam’s neck, leaving wet kisses and lasting bites on skin. Voice low and intimate when he reaches Bambam’s ear, Jaebeom murmurs, “You made the right choice. You gave me a better life.” Bambam opens his mouth again, but before he can form a response, Jaebeom trails his spit slicked fingers over Bambam’s ass. Two fingers tease at his entrance, in warning, before Jaebeom sinks them both in, hard and fast. Bambam opens up for him perfectly, sweet and sensual when he moans at the fingers dragging against his rim. Jaebeom fucks his fingers in the clenching heat faster, Bambam already stretched and prepped from earlier on the couch.

Bambam’s head has fallen back onto Jaebeom’s wide shoulder, eyes shut tightly closed, but Jaebeom nudges him up. Bambam whines and squints against the sunlight streaming in from the window brighter and brighter as the minutes pass. Jaebeom’s fingers slow and slip out of Bambam’s hole, hand wet with spit and lube, Jaebeom uses it to slick up his cock.

The sun is half-way over the horizon, and it's blinding, reflected in the towering skyscrapers and beaming into Bambam’s penthouse. 

Jaebeom’s breath is hot when he drawls in Bambam’s ear, “You gave me a new life.” The sun beats down on them, warming their skin, and the flushed head of Jaebeom’s cock catches on Bambam’s pink rim. Bambam doesn’t seem very coherent anymore, having given up on responding when Jaebeom won’t even let him get a word in edgewise. He tries to sink himself back onto Jaebeom, to urge him on, but Jaebeom catches his hip with a hand. The movement has Bambam groaning out _please, hyung_ in frustration. Jaebeom chokes on his reply, “God, you’re just begging for it, aren’t you?”

“If you’d do something, I wouldn’t have to.” Bambam snips back, voice reedy and thin. The window he’s pressed against is frictionless against his dick, preventing him from any sort of stimulation without Jaebeom’s help. 

Jaebeom hums, dismissive as he slides his cock between Bambam’s cheeks, hands gripping the flesh hard enough to turn it a light red to match Bambam’s face.

“Do you believe me yet?” Jaebeom asks, but the hand he wraps around Bambam’s cock is too distracting for Bambam to form an answer. Before Bambam can pick up a rhythm thrusting into Jaebeom’s fist, Jaebeom circles a tight ring around the base of Bambam’s dick. His fingers press too tight, cutting off Bambam’s rising orgasm. When he has Bambam’s attention again, more frustrated and turned on than ever, Jaebeom repeats, “Do you believe that I want to be here with you? That you gave me a better life?”

Bambam, hiccupping and too desperate to handle more of Jaebeom’s teasing, nods in agreement. 

But Jaebeom isn’t pacified with the half-hearted dismissal of an answer. He wants Bambam to mean it, to really know how Jaebeom feels about him. Voice darker, slurring his words, he pushes, hand still circling Bambam’s cock tight, “D’you see how much I want you, baby, how I’d do anything for you?”

Bambam nods urgently and a little wild, sweaty hair bouncing with the movement. Even when Jaebeom thinks he’s got him sweet and obedient for once, Bambam never really surrenders. Pressing his chest against the window to arch his back, Bambam’s tiny waist, his cute, perky ass are blatantly put on display. Casting a glance over his shoulder, Bambam’s face is confident when he parts his thick lips, red and abused, to gasp out, “C’mon, prove it to me.”

Jaebeom can’t ignore a request like that, a rich, lilting plead slipping past the devilish curling smirk on Bambam’s face.

“Bambam,” Jaebeom sighs as he brings a hand to caress the dip of Bambam’s back. The stroke sends a thrill down Bambam’s spine, raises goosebumps under Jaebeom’s fingertips. “I love you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving how much I want to be with you, if that’s what you need to believe it.”

Jaebeom cuts off the rebuttal on Bambam’s lips by teasing the head of his cock against his entrance. Bambam practically keens at the pressure, pushing his hips back into Jaebeom, finally given what he’s been wanting for too long.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so beautiful,” Jaebeom curses as he slowly sinks into Bambam until he bottoms out, hands holding Bambam’s hips still. The slide is scorching, clenching heat around his cock. Jaebeom groans, “you feel so good, Jesus, Bam—”

Bambam hisses at the stretch of Jaebeom’s dick, dragging against his rim, the burn tingling in his lower back. Jaebeom remains pressed deep inside, paused until Bambam encourages him, rocking back onto him. He presses his back into Jaebeom’s chest, wide and solid behind him, practically enveloping his shoulders. When Jaebeom begins a slow rhythm, sensual, deep thrusts, Bambam’s head collapses between his shoulders where he’s propped himself against the glass.

“Watch the sunrise,” Jaebeom grunts, hips pistoling into him, repetitive and jarring. A rough hand in Bambam’s hair jerks his head up, back toward the glass window. Jaebeom continues, voice sultry and sweet in Bambam’s ear, head moved to tuck into his shoulder, “the first sunrise, of the rest of our lives.”

Bambam squints out the window at Jaebeom’s request, sunlight bouncing off buildings, burning into his retinas until he has to squeeze his eyes closed against the glare. Eyes closed tight, all he has left to focus on is Jaebeom fucking him into the window, hard jolting thrusts making Bambam pant against the glass, fogging up under his breath. 

Jaebeom’s hand curls around his throat, fingertips pressing hard into the delicate skin. Bambam moans at the pressure on his neck, and he thinks about Jaebeom biting him, almost wants to ask him to do just that, but all he can manage are sharp little gasping breaths. Jaebeom’s hips drive unrelenting against his prostate, sending shockwaves of pleasure that leave him choking for the air he needs to speak. He’s almost on the edge, breathless and so close to coming practically untouched, only the wet slap of his hard cock against the glass whenever Jaebeom jerks him forward.

Bambam starts in a cry, eyes screwed shut and hands scrabbling against the glass, “Hyung, I’m gonna—” 

“You closed your eyes,” Jaebeom cuts him off, making Bambam curse when he pulls out all the way, only to slide back in with short, frustrating aborted thrusts. It leaves Bambam wanting more, rolling his hips back in an attempt to hasten Jaebeom’s thrusts, to get him back deeper, harder. 

“Too bright.” Bambam whines, cute where his cheek has pressed onto the cool glass.

Jaebeom’s eyes crease when he smiles at Bambam, his infectious happiness warming Bambam from the inside out as Jaebeom hums, “I’d rather look at you anyway. You’re prettier than any sunrise.”

“Cheesy.” Bambam complains as Jaebeom pulls out fully, Jaebeom’s gentle hands turning him around until his back is pressed against the glass instead. Jaebeom huffs into the kiss that Bambam pulls him into, arms around his shoulders reeling him in. Jaebeom’s tongue curls past his lips, a hand roughly gripping Bambam’s soft flesh where his ass and thigh meet. Bambam moans into Jaebeom’s mouth when he squeezes his thigh, pulling Bambam’s leg up to hitch against his hip. The movement slides them closer, Jaebeom pressing them together, lining up to push slowly back into Bambam. Bambam breaks the kiss with a moan at the feeling, hips sinking down onto his cock until it’s fully sheathed within him. 

Jaebeom gives him a moment to recover, a languid kiss shared between them, lips barely moving, comfortably pressed together. Jaebeom picks up an aggravating pace, pulling half-way out and stroking back infuriatingly slowly.

The reprieve is too long for Bambam as Jaebeom’s leisurely thrusts only tease him, unsatisfying. Bambam wraps his arms around Jaebeom’s shoulders, yanks him closer to pull on his earlobe with his teeth, to murmur in his ear, condescending, “That all you got? Fledglings usually have more energy.”

Bambam’s grin grows when Jaebeom predictably reacts to the provocation. Jaebeom’s palms slap against the glass, bracketing Bambam and pinning him in. Jaebeom leans against the window to drive his pelvis into Bambam, the angle torturously hitting his prostate on every upstroke. Bambam laughs between gasps of air as Jaebeom fucks him against the window, little noisy squeaks of skin on the glass as they slip against the surface. Determined, even with the increasingly awkward position, Jaebeom grounds his feet on the floor, stance wide, hips slamming into Bambam. Bambam’s cock slides pressed between their stomachs, wet and leaking against hard muscle. 

“Ah, please,” Bambam whines, fingernails catching at the skin of Jaebeom’s shoulders as he scrabbles for purchase on his sweaty back. Jaebeom’s pace jolts him hard against the window, heat pools in his groin as Jaebeom brings them to the edge. He can barely speak through his gasps, “I’m so close—”

One of Jaebeom’s hands wraps around his cock, thumb digging under the sensitive head. Bambam keens at the stimulation, Jaebeom’s fist jerking him off as his hips pump into him, faster and faster. Jaebeom’s cock grinds into him at a brutal pace, frenzied, and Jaebeom’s fist around him has loosened, messy. 

Sure that Jaebeom is as close as he is, Bambam begs, “Hyung, come with me.”

Jaebeom groans, loud and low from his chest at the request. Bambam’s hand covers Jaebeom’s on his cock, tightening their grip around him. Bambam can’t last much longer, the erratic rhythm of Jaebeom’s hips drawing him closer. He comes with the next press against his prostate, sending final waves of pleasure up his spine, and making him come between their stomachs. Bambam slumps a little, an exhausted panting mess in Jaebeom’s arms as he holds them steady against the glass.

“Jaebeom hyung, finish in me.”

The words, whimpered hushed and sweet near Jaebeom’s ear makes him moan _yes_ as if he’s never heard a better idea. 

Jaebeom’s thrusts lack any sense of control, wild as he chases after his orgasm. His voice is honey sweet as he pants out words dripping with affection, “Baby, I love you, you’re so good to me, Bambam, fuck—”

Jaebeom’s eyebrows are scrunched together, handsome face tense when Bambam pulls him into a kiss, his words growing incoherent as his orgasm swells. Bambam doesn’t even notice his own discomfort, though the overstimulation of Jaebeom still fucking into him post orgasm is starting to fade. The burning turns into a pleasant pain when Jaebeom brushes against his prostate again, Bambam’s cock twitches and he breaks the kiss with a gasp. 

He’s too tired to already be starting round two though, petulant when he whines, lips pouty, “Hurry up, Jaebeom-ah.” 

But Jaebeom’s already there, last few thrusts before he’s grinding in a final time, releasing inside Bambam. Bambam grunts at the feeling, pleasant until Jaebeom pulls out after a moment, and the warm liquid slides down his skin, sticky.

“God, you’re such a brat. Do you ever shut up?” Jaebeom huffs, letting Bambam’s leg slip from where it was loosely wrapped around his hip. 

“But I’m your brat.” Bambam, ever the flirt, teases, as he slips from between Jaebeom and the wall. He looks radiant in the full morning light, bare tan skin glowing, messy with sweat and drying come. His hair is tousled, lips swollen and the ravaged way he looks just makes Jaebeom want to drag him to bed this second time around.

Bambam stretches his arms over his head, overexaggerates his groans to get the annoyed glare Jaebeom throws at him. His lean muscles are on display as he stretches out the kinks from being pressed against the glass window. 

“No offense, but even after all that, I’m starving.” Bambam calls over his shoulder, confidently strolling nude through his penthouse. “You didn’t go easy, I think I worked up more of an appetite.”

Jaebeom trails after him, familiar enough with the layout of the apartment to notice that Bambam is leading them to the bathroom.

“I mean, you drank most of my last meal, so yeah, I’m hungry too.” Jaebeom offers.

Bambam pointedly turns around to roll his eyes at Jaebeom. The eye roll says, _you offered._

“We’ll go to the blood center together after we shower.”

Wherever Bambam goes, Jaebeom would more than willingly follow. There’s nowhere else he’d rather be than with Bambam. 

_The first day of the rest of their lives._

**Author's Note:**

> Death (upright): end of cycle, beginnings, change, metamorphosis
> 
> omg. i bit off WAY more than i could chew with this one. it honestly shouldve been multichap but i just wanted to do a oneshot. uh. LOL
> 
> anyway i hope y'all had fun reading this! i kind of lost steam and have been super stressed/sick lately but i still had so much fun writing this. i just went to town with whatever idea i had so it might be a lil tropey but sue me. i wish i had more time with this fic but also now i never want to see it again akldsfjlkasdf


End file.
